Section 21 Replacement: What No-Fault Notice to Use Instead (England, 2026)

If you have come here searching for a section 21 notice template, the single most important thing to understand first is this: in England, there is no longer a valid Section 21 notice to download, fill in or serve. Section 21, the so-called “no-fault” eviction route, was abolished by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which came into force on 1 May 2026. Any “section 21 notice template” you find on an old letting forum or template site in 2026 is legally useless, and serving one will not get you possession. Worse, relying on it could waste months and expose you to wasted court fees.

This guide explains what actually replaced Section 21, which notices are still valid, what a compliant template looks like now, and how to choose the right route for your situation. The short version: there is no like-for-like “no-fault” replacement, but there are real, legal routes to recover your property, and getting the paperwork right matters more than ever.

Why there is no section 21 notice template in 2026

Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 let landlords end an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) without giving any reason, once any fixed term had expired and the correct preconditions were met. It was the backbone of the buy-to-let model for nearly 30 years. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 removed it entirely and, at the same time, abolished fixed-term ASTs. Every assured tenancy in England is now a periodic (rolling) tenancy with no automatic end date.

That single change rewrites three assumptions that underpinned almost every old template:

• You cannot serve a Section 21 notice. The section is repealed. There is no prescribed Form 6A to complete, and a court will not entertain a claim founded on it.
• You cannot rely on a fixed term “ending”. There are no fixed terms, so there is nothing to expire and nothing to “not renew”.
• You cannot evict without a legal reason. Possession now requires a valid statutory ground, properly cited and properly proved.

In practice this means the entire mental model of “wait for the fixed term, serve two months’ notice, get the property back” has gone. If you are still getting your head around the change, our explainer on Section 21 abolished: what landlords need to know covers the background in plain English, and is Section 21 still valid in 2026? tackles the question directly for anyone who has heard conflicting things online.

A note on legacy notices already served

If you served a valid Section 21 notice before the abolition date and acted on it within the permitted window, transitional rules may still allow that specific claim to proceed, but this is a narrow, time-limited carve-out, not a route you can start using now. From 1 May 2026 onward, a fresh Section 21 notice simply cannot be created. Treat any template promising one as a red flag.

What replaced the section 21 notice template

The replacement is not a single shiny new “no-fault” form. Instead, landlords must use the Section 8 notice route, serving notice based on one or more statutory grounds for possession. Section 8 always existed alongside Section 21; the difference is that it is now the only route, and the grounds themselves have been reformed and expanded under the Renters’ Rights Act.

There are around 37 grounds in total. Some are mandatory (if the ground is proved, the court must order possession) and some are discretionary (the court decides whether it is reasonable to make the order, even if the facts are made out). The grounds an ordinary landlord is most likely to reach for are summarised below.

A few important reforms sit behind that table. Grounds 3, 4 and 16 were abolished. The arrears threshold for the mandatory Ground 8 was raised to three months (or 13 weeks where rent is paid weekly), up from the old two-month/eight-week figure, a meaningful change that makes arrears-based possession slower to trigger. Grounds 1 and 1A now carry a four-month notice period and come with restrictions, including a prohibition on re-letting the property for a period after using them.

Crucially, you must always serve on the current prescribed Section 8 form on GOV.UK. Do not rely on a form number quoted in an old template or blog post: the prescribed form has been updated for the new regime, and an out-of-date form can itself be a reason a notice fails. For a fuller walkthrough of each ground and when it applies, see Section 8 notice explained: how landlords regain possession, and for a side-by-side of the old and new worlds, Section 8 vs Section 21: what changed.

What a compliant Section 8 “template” must contain

Because Section 8 is now your route, the template you actually need is a Section 8 notice, not a repurposed Section 21 form. A valid notice must:

1. Use the current prescribed form published on GOV.UK. Legislation requires the prescribed form, not a lookalike or a “we tidied it up” version.
2. Correctly name every party, all tenants on the agreement and the landlord (and any agent serving on the landlord’s behalf).
3. State the specific ground numbers you are relying on, and set out the facts supporting each one. “Ground 8” on its own is not enough; you must show the arrears figure and dates.
4. Give the correct notice period for the longest ground cited. If you combine, say, Ground 1A (four months) with Ground 10 (four weeks), the notice must run for the longer period, four months.
5. Specify the earliest date on which court proceedings can begin.
6. Be properly served on the tenant, by a method the tenancy agreement and the law permit, with proof of service retained.

The single most common error is citing a ground but failing to give the matching facts, or giving too short a notice period for the highest ground. A defective notice gets thrown out, and you start the clock again, often three to four months lost before you can even file a claim. Our guide to getting the Section 8 notice template right the first time drills into the specific wording mistakes that void notices.

A worked example: from “I want my property back” to a valid notice

Consider Priya, who owns a two-bed flat in Leeds let on a periodic assured tenancy at £1,200 per month. She has decided to sell.

1. She identifies the right ground. Selling is Ground 1A, mandatory, with a four-month notice period. She cannot use a Section 21 template because there is no longer one to use.
2. She checks the preconditions. Ground 1A is not available in the very early months of a tenancy and triggers re-letting restrictions, so she confirms the tenancy has run long enough and that she genuinely intends to sell.
3. She downloads the current prescribed Section 8 form from GOV.UK, not a 2024 PDF saved on her laptop.
4. She completes it carefully: both tenants named, Ground 1A cited, a short factual statement that she intends to sell with vacant possession, and a notice expiry date at least four months ahead.
5. She serves it by a permitted method, keeps a dated copy and a certificate of service, and diarises the date proceedings can start if the tenant does not leave.

If the tenant still has not left after the notice expires, Priya can apply to the court for a possession order. Court fees, bailiff costs and timelines are a separate budgeting exercise, see Section 8 court costs and fees: what it costs to evict in 2026 so there are no surprises.

Contrast this with the old world: pre-2026, Priya could have served a no-reason Section 21 notice with a two-month period. The new route is slower and demands a genuine, evidenced reason, which is precisely why a recycled section 21 notice template is not just unhelpful but actively risky.

“Free” section 21 notice templates: what to watch for

A free download is perfectly fine, if it is genuinely current. In 2026 the specific risks are:

• Out-of-date Section 21 forms dressed up as “no-fault notices” or “2026 eviction notices”. These are worthless and a sign the publisher has not updated for the Act.
• Old Section 8 forms that still list repealed grounds (3, 4, 16) or quote the old two-month arrears threshold for Ground 8.
• Generic “UK” templates that ignore England-specific rules. Scotland and Wales have entirely different possession regimes; a template that does not say “England” should be treated with suspicion.
• Form numbers presented as gospel. Prescribed forms change. Always take the form from GOV.UK at the moment you need it rather than trusting a number printed in an article.

Always cross-check any template against the prescribed form on GOV.UK and the grounds in the Housing Act 1988 (as amended) on legislation.gov.uk. A free template that you then have to correct by hand is a false economy when a single defective notice can cost you a full possession cycle.

Free template checklist

Before you rely on any downloaded notice, confirm it:

• Says England and references the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 or the current Section 8 regime.
• Is a Section 8 notice (or directs you to the GOV.UK prescribed form), not a Section 21 form.
• Lists only live grounds and the current Ground 8 threshold (three months / 13 weeks).
• Leaves space for facts under each ground, not just tick-boxes.
• Reminds you to set the notice period by the longest ground cited.

What if you just want the tenant to leave by agreement?

Not every exit needs a notice and a court hearing. If the tenant is willing, a surrender by mutual agreement, properly documented in a deed of surrender, can end the tenancy cleanly and quickly, with no grounds required at all. This is often the fastest and cheapest route when the relationship is amicable. See deed of surrender template for England: what it must include for the clauses that make a surrender watertight.

Remember too that the tenant can always end the tenancy themselves on two months’ notice under the new periodic model. If your tenant is already thinking of moving, the simplest “no-fault” exit may be the one they trigger, our tenant-facing guide on giving notice as a tenant sets out exactly how that works. The full menu of legal exits is mapped in how tenancies end in England in 2026.

And if your real issue is not eviction at all but wanting to raise the rent, that is an entirely separate process, see how to increase rent legally after the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which uses the Section 13 route, not a possession notice. Confusing the two is a common and costly mistake.

Quick decision guide

Use this as a fast triage before you go looking for any template:

• Want the property back to sell? Section 8, Ground 1A, four months’ notice (subject to re-letting restrictions).
• Want to move in yourself, or move close family in? Section 8, Ground 1, four months’ notice.
• Serious arrears of three months or more? Section 8, Ground 8 (mandatory), four weeks’ notice, but the arrears must still stand at the hearing.
• Some arrears, or persistent lateness? Section 8, Grounds 10/11 (discretionary), four weeks’ notice.
• Serious anti-social behaviour? Section 8, Ground 14 (discretionary), proceedings can begin immediately.
• Tenant happy to go? Consider a deed of surrender, no grounds needed.
• Still looking for a no-fault Section 21 template? It does not exist anymore. Use Section 8.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still download and serve a Section 21 notice in 2026?

No. Section 21 was repealed by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 with effect from 1 May 2026. There is no current prescribed Section 21 form, and a court will not grant possession on the basis of one. Any site still offering a “2026 Section 21 notice template” has not updated for the law.

Is there a single “no-fault” form that replaced Section 21?

No. There is no direct no-fault replacement. To regain possession you must rely on a statutory ground under Section 8 and serve the current prescribed Section 8 form on GOV.UK. The closest thing to a genuinely no-fault exit is a voluntary surrender agreed with the tenant.

What is the notice period now that Section 21 is gone?

It depends entirely on the ground. Selling (Ground 1A) and moving in (Ground 1) require four months. Serious arrears (Ground 8) and the discretionary arrears grounds require four weeks. Where you cite more than one ground, you must give the notice period of the longest ground.

Can I use an old Section 8 template I already have?

Only if it matches the current prescribed form and the reformed grounds. Many older Section 8 templates list abolished grounds (3, 4 and 16) or quote the old two-month arrears threshold for Ground 8. Always check it against the GOV.UK prescribed form before serving.

What happens if my notice is defective?

A defective Section 8 notice is usually fatal to that possession claim. The court can refuse to make an order, and you typically have to correct the error, serve a fresh notice and wait out the notice period again, easily three to four months lost, plus any wasted court fees.

Do the rules differ outside England?

Yes. The Renters’ Rights Act applies to England. Wales and Scotland have their own, different possession regimes, so a “UK-wide” template is rarely correct for an English tenancy. Always use an England-specific notice.

Coming soon

Tenancy Pilot is launching soon, and our possession toolkit is built for exactly this new world: it will only generate notices that are still legal in 2026. Instead of hunting for a defunct Section 21 template, you will describe your situation, the tool selects the correct grounds and notice period, and it produces a Section 8 notice aligned to the current prescribed form, with the four-month versus four-week deadline calculations and proof-of-service prompts built in, plus reminders for when you can file at court. It is not live yet, but it is coming.

Want to be first to use it when it launches? Join the waitlist and we will let you know the moment it goes live.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Possession law is high-stakes and fact-sensitive. Always check the current prescribed forms and rules on GOV.UK and the legislation on legislation.gov.uk, and consult a qualified solicitor before serving any notice or starting court proceedings.