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Category: Renters Rights Bill

The first main phase of the Renters’ Rights Act is set to be rolled out on 1st May 2026.

Many aspects of the private rental sector (PRS) will drastically change. Landlords only have one month to exercise powers that the Renters’ Rights Act will soon abolish, namely Section 21.

No-fault eviction ban

The removal of Section 21 from law was arguably the biggest point of controversy surrounding the Renters’ Rights Act – or the Renters’ Rights Bill, as it was known in the preliminary stages. 

Section 21 allowed landlords to evict tenants from their rental properties for any reason. Since the long cycle of parliamentary debates on the Renters’ Rights Bill, landlords have been preparing for the day when it would be taken away from their arsenal. 

Labour and pro-tenant groups have campaigned for Section 21’s abolition for many years, due to the perceived power imbalance it caused between landlords and tenants. Tenants could be evicted through no fault of their own, without much power to oppose a landlord’s decision.

But, despite how it was popularly portrayed in the media, Section 21 was not an “evil” clause that landlords abused with impunity to make their tenants homeless. 

More often than not, landlords would have valid reasons to retake full control of their properties. Citing Section 21 was simply the most efficient way of doing so, especially when the court system is notoriously slow. 

Many landlords had no intention to use Section 21, but took comfort in its existence as a security net, in case the need to evict a tenant ever arose. 

Therefore, its removal is widely seen as symbolic of a wider trend of the government restricting landlords’ rights, while giving tenants more leverage to remain in rental accommodation for as long as possible.

Knowledge gaps

For the majority of tenants, the removal of Section 21 was barely on their radar. Back in 2025, a survey of 1,700 tenants in PRS accommodation found that 75% of them did not know how the then-upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill would affect them. 

It stands to reason that many PRS tenants are still unaware that the feared Section 21 is set to be abolished very soon, and believe that landlords can still hand out no-fault eviction notices.

Section 8

With no-fault eviction notices on their way out, a type of “fault” eviction notice called Section 8 can still be legally issued after 1st May.

Section 8 notices are more complex than Section 21 because they require specific legal grounds for a landlord to use them. For example, a tenant can still be evicted via Section 8 if they have significant rent arrears.

However, Section 8 evictions can take much longer to enforce because they require a court hearing to prove that a tenant has breached their contract. It can take six or more weeks for a hearing to be booked in, and the following court proceedings can take even longer.

As such, Section 8 was less desirable for a landlord to use compared to Section 21, which did not need a court hearing unless a tenant refused to leave when asked, and had an “accelerated possession order” option to quicken the overall eviction process.

Section 8 notices may not be the easiest to enforce, but for many landlords, having a legal mechanism to evict tenants is better than having none at all.

What else will change with the Renters’ Rights Act?

The removal of Section 21 may be a headlining policy in the Renters’ Rights Act, but it is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the huge quantity of changes coming to the PRS.

Stay tuned on our news page, as over the course of this month, we will cover the following topics so that you are fully prepared for the upcoming changes:

  • The removal of fixed-term tenancies
  • Ban on bidding wars
  • Rules around tenants' pets
  • ... and much more

In addition, make sure to follow us on our social media for helpful, bite-sized updates.