"Landlords who take a proactive, informed approach, supported by the right legal expertise, will still be able to regain possession where there is a legitimate need, while remaining fully compliant in a more structured regulatory environment"
- Sim Sekhon - LegalforLandlords.
Section 21 evictions continued to rise in 2025, increasing 1.7% to an estimated 11,586 cases in England, according to new analysis by LegalforLandlords.
That follows a sharp 20.4% surge in the previous year, and the sustained growth underlines how heavily landlords have relied on no-fault notices ahead of their abolition under the Renters' Rights Act, which comes into force in May.
A Section 21 notice allows landlords to evict a tenant without giving any reason, with two months' notice required. When one is served, most tenants leave before the notice period expires to avoid court proceedings, meaning official repossession statistics capture only part of the full picture.
Despite the annual increase, the final quarter of 2025 saw Section 21 cases fall by 7.5%, suggesting some landlords may already be adjusting their behaviour in anticipation of the legislative change.
What replaces Section 21?
The Renters' Rights Act will do more than ban Section 21 evictions. It will also abolish assured shorthold tenancies and replace them with periodic assured tenancies, ending the standard fixed-term model of six or 12-month contracts. Under the new system, tenancies will be open-ended, with tenants choosing when to leave.
For landlords, the primary route to regaining possession will shift to Section 8 notices. From 1 May, landlords seeking to recover their property will need to serve a Section 8 notice citing one or more legally defined grounds.
These include failure to pay rent on time, anti-social behaviour and property damage. Critically, the Act also allows Section 8 notices to be issued on the basis of a landlord's own circumstances, such as needing to sell the property, move in themselves, or house a close family member.
The changes are designed to give tenants greater security while preserving landlords' ability to reclaim properties under legitimate conditions.
"The Renters' Rights Act marks a fundamental shift in the private rental sector, removing Section 21 and placing greater emphasis on justified possession," said Sim Sekhon, group CEO at LegalforLandlords.
"While that may feel like a loss of control for some landlords, it doesn't remove their ability to protect their assets; it simply changes how they do it. The key will be understanding and correctly using the expanded Section 8 grounds, whether that's addressing rent arrears, responding to tenant behaviour, or reclaiming a property to sell or house a family."
"Landlords who take a proactive, informed approach, supported by the right legal expertise, will still be able to regain possession where there is a legitimate need, while remaining fully compliant in a more structured regulatory environment."
