How does The Renters’ Rights Act effect ….. Tenancy Termination?

Notices: Landlords will no longer be able to serve a Section 21 (No Fault Eviction) notice to gain possession of their property from tenants. Instead, landlords will only terminate the tenancy by serving a Section 8 notice, specifying one or more appropriate grounds for possession and providing four months’ notice. Different grounds have different notice periods. The notice must be provided on the government website and can be changed at any time by amending it on the website. This will apply to both new and existing tenancies from 1st May 2026, providing immediate protection to private tenants.

The grounds for possession include:

• the landlord wishing to sell the property
• the landlord wishing to occupy the property themselves
• or the landlord wishing for their family to occupy the property

A tenant may terminate the tenancy at any point by serving a two-month notice in writing on the landlord. The notice must expire the day before the rent is due.

If there are joint tenants, then notice by one will be effective for all tenants.

Section 8 notices: Grounds will be introduced and amended. These notices must include a reason, such as when landlords are selling or moving in family. These include:

• New ground 1A: For landlords selling their property. Requires four months’ notice and cannot expire within the first 12 months. Landlords cannot remarket for let (short or long term) for 12 months.
• Amended ground 1: For landlords or family moving in. Notice periods mirror ground 1A. Landlords cannot re-let the property for 12 months.
• Amended ground 8: For serious rent arrears. Tenants must have at least three months of arrears (previously two), and the notice period increases from two weeks to four weeks.
• New ground 4A: Possession of student accommodation. Applies only to HMO-licensed properties and can only expire between 1st June and 30th September.