Thousands of households are forced out of their homes through no-fault evictions each year. Image: Unsplash
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Renting in the UK during the housing crisis is a tough task, and it’s made worse by the possibility of a section 21 eviction – or no-fault eviction – hanging over your head. That’s why the government plans to scrap them entirely in new legislation.
These notices essentially mean that a landlord can evict a tenant without reason. But there’s a procedure that must be followed, and these section 21 eviction notices can only be handed out in some parts of the UK.
Nearly 110,000 households in England were threatened with a section 21 eviction at some point in the last five years, government figures show. Roughly 3,000 had to leave their homes through no-fault evictions between April and June of this year alone.
What is a section 21 eviction notice?
A section 21 eviction notice is a formal legal notice that a landlord in England or Wales can give to their tenant to end an assured shorthold tenancy. This type of notice allows the landlord to ask you to leave without having to provide a specific reason or fault on your part, which is why it’s often called a no-fault eviction.
Unlike a section 8 eviction notice, where a landlord needs to give specific grounds (like rent arrears or damage to the property), section 21 notices don’t require you to have done anything wrong. It’s a way for landlords to regain possession of their property, and it’s often used when they want to sell the property or move back in themselves.
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No-fault evictions in England
Section 21 notices are used in England but are subject to strict rules. Landlords can’t issue one within the first four months of your tenancy, and they have to give you at least two months’ notice. They also need to have followed proper legal procedures, which includes having protected your deposit in a government-approved scheme and that you were given key documents like the property’s Energy Performance Certificate.
No-fault evictions in Wales
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act introduced new rules for landlords and tenants in 2022. In Wales, section 21 notices have been replaced by no-fault notices under section 173. These new notices can’t be issued in the first six months of a tenancy and require landlords to give six months’ notice, rather than the two-month period in England, for most tenants – though some people are only entitled to two months’ notice, depending on the type of contract you have and when it started. This might apply if you live in housing provided by your employer, for example.
No-fault evictions in Scotland
No-fault evictions were effectively scrapped in Scotland in 2017. Landlords have to give grounds for eviction, which means tenants in Scotland are generally better protected from losing their homes without reason. The rules are stricter, and landlords must prove that at least one of a set of predetermined reasons applies in their case if they want to evict someone.
No-fault evictions in Northern Ireland
Landlords in Northern Ireland need to give a reason to evict you if you have a fixed term tenancy and haven’t reached the end of it yet, or if you have a rolling tenancy and have been in the home for fewer than six months.
What is a no fault eviction?
A section 21 eviction notice is often referred to as a “no-fault” eviction because, put simply, it’s not your fault. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve paid your rent on time or kept the property in good condition – this type of eviction notice allows the landlord to ask you to leave without any wrongdoing on your part. This can cause major distress for tenants who feel settled in their home, only to be told they need to leave with little explanation.
But this doesn’t mean landlords can issue these notices without following the law. There are still strict guidelines they must adhere to – if they flout these rules it could be considered an illegal eviction.
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Some tenants find that their landlord wants to sell without the hassle of evicting the, so instead pass responsibility for the tenancy onto the new owner, making the person living there a sitting tenant.
What to do if you get a section 21 notice
The first thing to do if you receive a section 21 eviction notice is to check whether the notice is valid. Many section 21 notices are thrown out in court because landlords haven’t followed the right process. Ask these questions to figure out if it’s legitimate:
Have you been given at least two months’ notice? (Six months if you’re in Wales under the new laws)
Has your landlord provided you with essential documents like the Energy Performance Certificate and Gas Safety Certificate?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, the notice might not be valid and you might be able to challenge it. You should contact a local housing adviser, or expert organisation like Shelter or Citizens Advice, if you’re unsure on next steps.
What happens after section 21?
The clock starts ticking once your landlord has given you a valid section 21 notice. After the notice period, if you haven’t left the property, your landlord will need to apply to the court for a possession order. They can’t force you to leave – that includes changing the locks while you’re out or removing your possessions – without a court order.
If the court grants the order, you will be given a date by which you need to leave the home and if you refuse, the landlord can apply for bailiffs to remove you.
How long does a section 21 eviction take?
The whole process of a no-fault eviction can take several months from when you received the notice if you don’t voluntarily move out after two months.
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It’s important to remember that you’re still a tenant during this time and that you still have rights, including the right to stay in the property until a court order is made.
Can you fight a section 21?
Landlords have to meet all legal requirements, including providing the correct documents and giving the right amount of notice, for a section 21 to be valid. And if they don’t, you might have recourse to challenge them in court.
In some cases you might be able to negotiate with your landlord before things are taken further. It’s worth speaking with them if you feel able to do so – they may be open to allowing you more time to find a new place, for example. Remember to keep a record of all correspondence.
You can challenge the notice in court and, if the judge finds that your landlord didn’t meet all the legal requirements, the eviction notice can be dismissed. This could buy you more time in the property or halt the eviction process altogether.
Start by getting free advice from a housing organisation, local tenants’ union or your council. Keep in mind, though, that fighting an eviction notice in court can be an expensive and lengthy process. You must keep paying your rent and looking after your home throughout to avoid creating any extra issues with your landlord.
Will no-fault evictions be banned?
The government has launched its plans to reform the country’s struggling private rent sector through the Renters’ Rights Bill, which had its first reading in parliament in September 2024. Ministers want to abolish section 21 evictions through the new legislation which means, If passed – the government hopes this could happen by summer 2025 – landlords could no longer throw tenants out of their homes without a reason.
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The bill doesn’t rule out no-fault evictions entirely, however. It makes allowances for cases where landlords legitimately want to sell their property or move in themselves, but in these circumstances tenants would have four months’ notice rather than two and it wouldn’t be allowed to happen during the first year of their tenancy.
This still poses some risk to tenants, according to tenant union ACORN, who said landlords shouldn’t be allowed to evict someone for these reasons “outside of rare circumstances”.
“If a landlord needs to sell a property, they should have to sell it to someone who will keep the tenant in place,” they added – “the tenant themselves, a private landlord, a housing association, a housing cooperative or a local authority” – and said tenants should be given compensation for being evicted by not having to pay rent for their last two months in the property.
The bill is a “big step in the right direction,” said a spokesperson for London Renters Union, “but it won’t solve the housing crisis on its own.
“While the end of section 21 is a significant achievement, landlords still have too much power to hike rents and push tenants out. Many renters will continue to face unsafe living conditions, and we are far from securing the rent controls we need to protect our homes and put down roots in our communities.
“But this bill shows that when we organise, we win.”
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There’s still a long road ahead for the bill before it could have an effect on tenants’ lives, and no fault evictions remain legal in the meantime. But change just might be on the horizon.
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