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Section 21 ends on 1 May 2026. If you want the full legislative breakdown, read our detailed guide, Renters’ Rights Act 2025: Possession. This article is a summary version.
From 1 May 2026, private landlords recover possession through section 8, not section 21. The new regime under section 3 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changes the notice periods and expands the ground structure, but the basic court route stays the same.
In practice, you will need Form 3A. GOV.UK says landlords should keep using Form 3 until 30 April 2026, then switch to Form 3A from 1 May. The advanced version is watermarked and must not be served. GOV.UK also confirms the new form requires the full wording of the grounds to be written out: assured tenancy forms from 1 May 2026.
Wrong ground, wrong form or wrong notice period can sink the claim.
The biggest change is not just the loss of section 21. It is that landlords now have to work inside a much more structured ground-based system.
Ground 1 is still the move-in ground. It applies where the landlord or a close family member needs the property as their only or principal home. But it cannot be used during the first 12 months of the current tenancy under Schedule 1 to the Act. So it is not a quick exit route for a new let.
Ground 1A is new and will probably be widely used. It allows possession where the landlord intends to sell, but it has the same 12-month restriction. It is not a soft replacement for section 21.
Ground 2 has been widened. The old requirement that the mortgage had to pre-date the tenancy has gone, and so has the old prior notice condition. That makes the mortgagee's ground more usable where a lender needs vacant possession for a sale.
Ground 4A is the new student HMO ground. It is narrow. The property must be an HMO, all tenants must meet the student test, the landlord must have provided the required written statement before the tenancy, and the timing must fit the academic cycle. It is for genuine student turnover, not any property that happens to have students in it.
Ground 6 remains the redevelopment ground. It is still there for demolition, reconstruction, and substantial works that cannot reasonably be carried out with the tenant in place. It is not a route for a basic upgrade and a higher rent.
Landlords also need to get the numbering right. The new compliance ground is Ground 6B, not Ground 6A. Ground 6A is a social landlord decant ground. Ground 6B is the one private landlords should notice, where continued occupation conflicts with a banning order, a licensing problem, a prohibition order, an overcrowding action, or planning enforcement.
Ground 7, death of tenant, remains available but is more limited where a successor was actually living in the property. Grounds 7A and 7B also remain for serious anti-social behaviour and right-to-rent disqualification.
Then there is Ground 8, rent arrears. This is one of the most practical changes, and many landlords are still getting it wrong. The mandatory threshold does not stay at two months. It rises to 13 weeks for weekly or fortnightly rent and three months for monthly rent, and the arrears must still be at that level both when notice is served and at the hearing. GOV.UK says the same in its grounds for possession guidance. So the mandatory arrears ground is harder than before.
The discretionary grounds will still handle much of the everyday work.
Grounds 10 and 11 should usually sit alongside Ground 8 in arrears cases. Ground 10 covers any rent arrears. Ground 11 covers persistent delay in paying rent, even if the tenant reduces the balance before the hearing. If you rely only on Ground 8, you invite the usual last-minute payment problem.
Ground 12 is the general breach ground. Unauthorised occupiers, unlawful subletting and other tenancy breaches usually end up here. The court will want evidence.
Ground 13 concerns deterioration caused by the tenant or anyone living there. Have photographs, inventories and inspection notes ready.
Ground 14 remains the fast nuisance ground. Proceedings can still begin straight away, although the court cannot make an order that takes effect within 14 days where only Grounds 7A or 14 are proved. We will deal with anti-social behaviour separately, because these cases often fail on evidence rather than law.
Ground 17 is still worth remembering. If the tenancy was obtained by a false statement made knowingly or recklessly, this is your fraud ground.
This is the point landlords really need to absorb.
If you rely on Ground 1 or Ground 1A, the new sections 16E, 16F, and 17 inserted into the Housing Act 1988 stop you from re-letting the property or marketing it to let during the restricted period.
That period starts when the notice is served and, in an ordinary case, runs until the end of 12 months beginning on the earliest date on which proceedings can start. Because Grounds 1 and 1A need four months' notice, the practical effect is usually about 16 months from service.
So the ban starts at the notice stage, not after the tenant has gone. No replacement tenancy. No paid licence. No advertising for a new tenant. There are narrow exceptions, but most private landlords should assume the restriction applies in full.
That is deliberate. Grounds 1 and 1A are meant for genuine occupation and genuine sale. They are not a new section 21.
Read the ground before you use it. Then read it again.
Before serving notice, make sure the tenancy file is in order. Check deposit protection, prescribed information, the evidence for the ground, and whether the ground depended on prior written notice at the start of the tenancy. Learn Form 3A before you need it.
For arrears cases, expect to plead Grounds 8, 10 and 11 together. For sale and move-in cases, think hard before serving notice because Grounds 1 and 1A now carry real consequences. For Ground 4A, do not assume a student property automatically means a student ground.
Section 21 is dead. Ground 8 is tougher. Grounds 1 and 1A come with strings attached. If you want possession after 1 May 2026, old habits and lazy paperwork will lose out.