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Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 was the no-fault possession route for assured shorthold tenancies in England — the procedure that let landlords recover possession after a fixed term without proving any tenant fault. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolishes it entirely from 1 May 2026 in England, including for tenancies that started before that date. Until then it remains the fastest accelerated-possession route, taking 8–16 weeks from notice service to a possession order on uncontested cases. The window for valid Section 21 service is closing fast: any notice served must expire on or before 30 April 2026.

Section 21 is a strict-liability prerequisite check, not a discretionary one. The court has no power to overlook a missing prerequisite even if the tenant agrees the landlord should recover possession. The four primary prerequisites are: (i) a properly protected deposit and Prescribed Information served within 30 days of receipt under Sections 213–215 Housing Act 2004; (ii) a current Gas Safety Record (CP12) issued at the start of the tenancy and within the 28-day window of every annual renewal; (iii) a valid Energy Performance Certificate of E or above (D from 2028 if the EPC C proposal lands); (iv) the current "How to Rent" booklet served at the start of the tenancy. Get any of these wrong and the notice is legally void.

The notice mechanics are tightly defined. Section 21(4)(a) requires a minimum two-month notice period for periodic tenancies and Section 21(4ZA) requires it to expire on the last day of a tenancy period. Section 21(4D) imposes a six-month back-stop — you cannot serve a Section 21 in the first four months of a fixed term, and the notice must be acted upon within six months of expiry. After 1 October 2015 the prescribed Form 6A must be used (replaced by Form 6A2 in 2024); a homemade notice on plain paper is invalid even if every prerequisite is satisfied.

Prerequisites also extend to How to Rent (HtR) timing, which catches landlords who think they only need to serve it at the start. The Court of Appeal in Caridon v Shooltz held that HtR served late — even if served before the Section 21 — cures the breach for that single subsequent notice; but the version of HtR served must be the version current on the day of tenancy commencement, not the latest version. With at least three HtR revisions since 2015, this is a frequent invalidity trap.

Once notice expires, court proceedings under the accelerated procedure (Form N5B) usually take 6–10 weeks for a possession order on paper, plus a further 6–12 weeks for a bailiff appointment if the tenant does not leave voluntarily. In contested cases (where the tenant counterclaims under Section 214 deposit penalty or HHSRS disrepair), the procedure converts to standard track with a hearing, taking 4–9 months end-to-end. Plan rental cash-flow against the longer timeline: from notice to vacant possession on a contested case is realistically 6–12 months even before the May 2026 abolition.

After 1 May 2026 every accelerated possession claim must use Section 8 grounds under Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 — with rent arrears (Ground 8 / 8A), tenant breach (Grounds 12–17), landlord intention to sell (Ground 1A) or family occupation (Ground 1) being the most common substitutes. Ground 1A in particular replaces much of what landlords used Section 21 for, but with a 4-month notice period, 12-month tenancy minimum and a 12-month re-letting bar after notice expiry. Run the calculator to confirm a Section 21 you serve today still expires before 30 April 2026 — if it doesn’t, plan for Section 8 from the outset.