How does a landlord end a tenancy now section 21 has gone?

There is now one lawful route. Serve a section 8 notice on Form 3A, cite a statutory ground from Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, give the notice period that ground carries, and — if the tenant is still there when it expires — apply to the county court for a possession order. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 repealed section 21 for private lets on 1 May 2026, so no route now works without a reason. Nothing you send the tenant yourself ends the tenancy; only a court order does.

Step one: a ground that fits

The split in Schedule 2 matters more than the ground number. Part I — "Grounds on which Court must order possession" — means the court must make the order and cannot postpone or suspend it. Part II — "Grounds on which Court may Order Possession" — means the judge must also think possession reasonable, and may adjourn, stay or postpone.

The grounds a private landlord usually reaches for, with the notice period each carries:

• Ground 1 — moving in (mandatory, four months). You, or a family member named in the ground, will live there as an only or principal home. The tenancy must have begun at least a year before the relevant date in the notice.
• Ground 1A — selling (mandatory, four months). You intend to sell the freehold or leasehold, or grant a lease of over 21 years. Again the tenancy must have run a year.
• Ground 8 — serious arrears (mandatory, four weeks). Three months' rent unpaid where rent is monthly, thirteen weeks' where it is weekly or fortnightly — and at that level both when you serve and at the hearing.
• Grounds 10 and 11 — other arrears (discretionary, four weeks). Rent simply unpaid, and persistent late payment. Plead 8, 10 and 11 together: paying down below three months before the hearing defeats ground 8, but not the other two.
• Ground 14 — anti-social behaviour (discretionary, immediate). Nuisance or annoyance caused by the tenant, or by someone living in or visiting the property, or certain convictions.
• Ground 7A — serious anti-social behaviour (mandatory, immediate). Narrow: specified convictions, findings of breach or closure orders, each with its own service deadline — twelve months from a conviction, three months from a closure order.
• Ground 4A — student lets (mandatory, four months). Recovers an HMO let to full-time students for the next academic year.

Section 8(4AA) sets those periods and requires the longest period for any ground in the notice: cite grounds 1A and 8 together and it runs four months, not four weeks. Section 16E(1) also bars relying on a ground you do not reasonably believe can succeed.

Step two: the period you cannot re-let

Rely on ground 1 or 1A and section 16E stops you letting the property on a tenancy of 21 years or less, letting anyone occupy it for money under a licence, or marketing it for either — including through an agent. The restricted period begins the day the notice is served and ends twelve months after the earliest date for proceedings given in it (section 16M(4)). On ground 1 or 1A that notice period is four months, so in practice the property is locked up for about sixteen months from service, not twelve. It runs whether or not the tenancy continues.

So moving in and selling are not a quiet route to a higher rent. Breach is a criminal offence under section 16J, and a council can impose a penalty of up to £40,000 instead of prosecuting. Narrow exceptions sit in section 16F, mainly letting to the family member the ground named.

Step three: what makes a notice worthless

An unprotected deposit

Under section 215 of the Housing Act 2004 the court may make a possession order only if the deposit is held in an authorised scheme, the scheme's initial requirements were complied with, and the prescribed information was given to the tenant. Miss any one and possession is blocked, except on grounds 7A or 14. The bar lifts once the deposit is returned in full, which is the usual fix — cheaper than losing a four-month notice.

The notice itself

• Wrong form. Form 3A is the private rented sector notice. Form 3 is the social housing version.
• Short period. Count from the date of service, and use the longest period cited.
• No particulars. Section 8(2) requires the ground and particulars of it. "Rent arrears" is not particulars; a schedule of what is owed and when is.
• Sitting on it. Proceedings must begin within twelve months of service, or the notice is dead.

Not yet law

Once the national landlord register is running, an unregistered landlord will not be able to get a possession order at all, except on ground 7A or 14. That bar is not in force — the database provisions have not commenced and regional dates are still in draft. Our landlord register guide has the timetable.

Step four: court

You prove the tenancy, a valid notice, compliance with the deposit rules, and the facts of the ground — the arrears schedule, the sale instruction, witness evidence on nuisance. On a Part I ground that ends it; on a Part II ground you must also satisfy the judge that possession is reasonable.

Then the rule with no exceptions. Never remove a tenant or their belongings, change the locks, or cut off services, whatever your notice says. Under section 1 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, unlawfully depriving a residential occupier of occupation — or attempting it, or harassing someone into leaving — is a criminal offence: up to six months' imprisonment summarily, two years on indictment. The tenancy ends when the court's order is executed, and not before.

If the tenant wants to leave

Far simpler. A tenant's notice must give at least two months, unless you have agreed a shorter period in writing (Protection from Eviction Act 1977, section 5(1ZA)). There is no prescribed form.

A tenancy can also end by surrender — both sides genuinely agreeing an end date, keys handed back. Put it in writing, signed by every named tenant, with the date and meter readings. "She said she'd go" is not a surrender.

The text-message trap

A WhatsApp or text telling a tenant to leave by a date is worse than useless. A landlord's notice to quit has no effect on an assured tenancy, so the message ends nothing — and section 16E(1) prohibits purporting to end a tenancy by notice to quit, serving a purported notice of possession, or requiring the tenant to leave orally. A council can impose a penalty of up to £7,000 for any of those.

Grounds 1 and 1A commit you to four months' notice and then a year you cannot re-let, so the ground has to be right first time. Keep deposit records and safety certificates with the tenancy file; a claim will test them. See also our fees page, tenant-find versus fully managed and what the Renters' Rights Act changed.

General information, current at October 2026, and not legal advice. Possession turns on the facts of the individual tenancy — take advice from a solicitor before serving any notice.

If you want a second pair of eyes on a tenancy file or a draft notice before it goes out, ring 0161 710 4510 or call in at 12–14 Midland Street, Manchester M12 6LB.