"The Government is anticipating a positive market correction, which will raise the bar for the whole housing sector. Yet inevitably, these changes and the risks of getting it wrong have caused some landlords to exit the market, leaving tenants angered by landlords taking action to serve s.21 notices now"
- Thomas Djan-Krofa - Keystone Law
The trend reflects mounting anxiety among some landlords about the new possession regime taking effect next month, as well as a broader wave of exits from the private rental sector. Eviction specialists Landlord Action reported their busiest month in more than two years, with instructions from landlords to serve notices up 62% year-on-year in September 2025, with significant growth in both section 21 notices and combined section 21 and section 8 instructions.
What changes on 1 May 2026
The 1 May 2026 commencement date represents a pivotal moment for the private rental sector, with almost all existing assured shorthold tenancies converting to assured periodic tenancies on that date, and no new assured shorthold tenancies permitted to be created thereafter.
A landlord can serve a section 21 notice up to 30 April 2026, but court proceedings using that notice must be initiated by 31 July 2026. After this date, no new possession claims under section 21 can be made. Any attempt to serve a section 21 notice on or after 1 May could expose landlords to a civil penalty of up to £7,000.
From that point, all evictions will require a Section 8 notice citing at least one valid legal ground, and any contested possession claim will require a court hearing. The mandatory grounds for landlords wishing to sell or move back in will require four months' notice and cannot be triggered within the first 12 months of a tenancy, with landlords generally unable to re-let the property for 16 months from serving notice.
Tougher hurdles and court uncertainty
"There is a lot to unpack with the new Renters' Rights Act, which came into force in October 2025," said Thomas Djan-Krofa, property litigation partner at Keystone Law. "The main parts of the act will come into play from 1 May 2026. These changes should create higher standards, better homes, and more rights for tenants, but also increased rents."
"The Government is anticipating a positive market correction, which will raise the bar for the whole housing sector. Yet inevitably, these changes and the risks of getting it wrong have caused some landlords to exit the market, leaving tenants angered by landlords taking action to serve s.21 notices now," he added.
Djan-Krofa points to the increased evidential burden under the new framework as a key concern for landlords navigating the transition. "If, for example, a landlord intends to rely on the anti-social behaviour ground for possession, they will need to provide 'substantial evidence', so there will be a higher burden on landlords to prove this ground."
And the question of court capacity adds further uncertainty. "We do not know how the courts will manage possession claims after 1 May 2026, but we anticipate more of the same in relation to court delays and longer waiting periods for hearing dates," he noted.
"We also do not know if there is going to be a new accelerated possession procedure, perhaps for certain mandatory grounds. There will inevitably still be some unanswered areas of this Act which both landlords and tenants will have to contend with."
Ministry of Justice data for July to September 2025 showed landlord possession claims fell 8% year-on-year to 23,327, while repossessions by county court bailiffs rose 9% to 7,641. The median time from claim to repossession increased to 27.4 weeks, up from 24.4 weeks in the same period of 2024.
What this means for UK landlords and tenants
According to homelessness charity Shelter, private sector landlords served more than 30,000 section 21 notices between July 2024 and June 2025, with 11,400 households removed from their homes by bailiffs in the same period. With the April deadline now weeks away, that figure is expected to rise further before the route closes permanently.
For landlords who have already served a valid notice, the priority is ensuring court proceedings are filed by 31 July 2026. Those yet to act face a narrowing window and must ensure all compliance documentation, including deposit protection certificates and gas safety records, is in order before serving, as any deficiency could invalidate the notice entirely.
Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, has pointed to broader market pressures, noting that more landlords are re-evaluating their position as regulation tightens and mortgage costs remain high. For tenants, the outlook beyond May is more secure in theory, though the backlog of notices served in the run-up to the deadline means displacement risk remains elevated in the short term.
How swiftly the court system adapts to the new section 8 regime will determine whether the Act's protections translate into practice as quickly as the legislation intends.
