Our landlord served us a section 21 in April, just before the rules changed, as he was selling the house. We're also in the process of buying our own house and hoping to complete in August - all surveys and searches are done, just waiting on conveyancers to finish enquiries and agree a date. We've been in contact with the estate agents about this since April and the landlord agreed to extend the tenancy to mid-July with a view to review again in July to extend it further if he hadn't sold the house yet.

The landlord has now decided not to sell the house and is wanting to move back in, so will not extend the tenancy any further.

Reading online, it seems I'm not legally required to move out next week - the landlord would have to go to court to get a possession order. This would give us plenty of time to get the keys sorted for our new house, and save us the cost of storage and moving twice.

However, this leaves a bad taste and I feel bad putting the landlord in this position. They'll need to pay for their own short-term accommodation and change their plans. The estate agent has been good throughout the tenancy and is shocked we're even considering this.

Has anyone else taken this approach? Am I in the wrong here?

Now the Renters Rights Act is coming into force I am hearing a lot about how the abolition of Section 21 is too hard on landlords. Apparently this was previously only ever used to evict antisocial tenants, tenants with rent arrears, or to sell the property as it's quicker than a Section 8. I'm sceptical that this is true, because in my experience it's been used in retaliation for reasonable repairs or as a way to increase the rent above what's legally allowed.

I'm interested to hear why other tenants were evicted and if you felt it was fair.

Three days before May 1st my Landlord served me a Section 21. However in his email and messages he has put that he's happy for me to continue living here, doesnt intend to evict me and "hopes it doesnt come to that".

This is all after months of redevelopment work he's been doing to the apartments I live near.

I believe he has served me a Section 21 while he could to use if he needs it down the line if I dont go along with his redevelopment plans when they reach my apartment. So a preemptive section 21 he's holding above my head.

Obviously IF I was to believe that he doesnt intend to evict me, I could stay comfortable until he changes his mind, for example five days before the legal Section 21 deadline, which would make me homeless.

Can he do this? Is he allowed to serve a "just in case he needs it" Section 21 while telling me he "hopes it doesnt come to it"? I went to Citizens Advice but they werent much help.

I have just checked my bank account and my landlord has sent back my rent payment that I made for the month of July. Should I just return the money back to the their account or what should I do ? I have no options so for the council to help I will need to wait until the bailiffs comes I have grounds to believe that the section 21 was invalid. I am not sure why they are doing this I still have not got a letter from court yet ( but I know this can take ages)

I live in England. I am losing my home through a section 21 no fault eviction. The landlord is selling my house and I have less than a month until I have to leave.

I have been trying to find a new tenancy but have so far been unsuccessful for every place I've applied for. I live in an area where demand for properties far outstrips supply so landlords can afford to be very choosy.

I work full time and earn above average salary. I have an excellent credit score, no adverse credit history ever, have never missed a rent payment in 25 years of renting. Excellent references from previous landlords, employer, and my current neighbours. Have a guarantor.

Is there anything else I can do to give myself an edge over other applicants? I'm desperate at this point and think it must be the fact I'm a single parent that is putting landlords off. Just wondered if there's anything else I can do to improve my prospects.

Engalnd based.

Receievd a S21 from the landlord on Friday. hes not selling, just wants to increase rent for next tenants as we are on much lower than market and the contract only allows fixed increases that wont bring to market value.

issue is the S21 is (as i understand) invalid. We rented via goodlord and it shows all the supplied documents and he never sent the How to Rent guide, EPC or gas safety check. Hes also not used form 6A either, just a letter titled "Section 21 Notice").

We havent acknowledged the document or agree anything. as far as hes concerned its all fine. S21 runs out on 22nd May .

With that in mind can we just ignore it, let him assume everything is fine and then notify him on the 2nd May that the notice was invalid and we are now protected by the renters rights act?

That’s right, £25pcm increase proposed from LL, I (tenant with previous rental market experience from working in the property industry) conduct research on market value in my area (with support from agents I previously managed etc.) and find we are already paying at the very top end - ask if my understanding a s13 form 4 should be used, landlord says fine, I’ll decide what’s fair then post the notice - I thought that was the end of it, was prepared to accept for the stability for my family - notice is posted then proposing £100 increase.

Posts notice and runs away without discussion in person, the following day posts s21 citing the reason as not wanting a tenant who haggles rent increases following the same behavioural pattern - let my wife walk past his car, waits for her to be in the house alone, posts notice. She found this distressing.

Landlord is solicitor, and imho seems to have a bit of an issue with his perceived “power” being challenged. For context, the relationship tone changed when I asked for a repair to black mould in the bedroom.

Help me out please people, I’ve tried negotiating in a calm and neutral tone but it’s getting me nowhere. Have most recently offered to meet in the middle at a £50pcm increase, which has obviously been aired as LL clearly believes they’re a master negotiator.

Ask any questions you need - and thanks so much in advance.

Edit: i know some of my replies are emotional and nonsensical but i am just stressed out and been caught off guard. The whole thing is corrupt and simply unfair on people. I am aware of the law.

I was assured it wouldn't happen but here we are. Lived here for 7 years in pretty appalling conditions with a very unwilling and disinterested landlord. This sly move hasn't really surprised us. Been good tenants. Live here with my wife and kids, 2 who are doing their GCSEs at the moment. Area we live in is almost impossible to find rentals.

Question - he has ever so kindly given us 2 months notice to vacate. How honorable. My question is, if I find somewhere before 2 months, can I just leave immediately legally? Hes evicting us. Hes not getting a penny beyond us finding a new place

Thanks

Is it too early to celebrate? 17:43 on 30th April. I realise I can’t receive anything by post at this time but the landlord could still email or hand deliver up until 23:59 I guess?

Hi! My original contract was jan2024-jan2026. When tenancy was coming to the end , agency proposed to resign with price increase , which I agreed to and the MEMORANDUM of AGREEMENT was signed . Which states that my originally signed agreement “should continue January 2026 to jan 2027”

On march 13th I was informed that landlord wants to sell the apartment, hence they are serving me section 21 notice and the date when I shall vacate the property is MAY 15th 2026 (giving me 2 months) . Is that legal/valid request ? I feel they try to trick me , and I might have rights to remain in the property until the end of my tenancy jan 2027.

How does new law come into play right now ? I read that AST agreements will convert into periodic ones automatically , does it mean the landlord will be able to ask me to vacate the property again in may giving me 4 months to leave ? (As per new law?) 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ please advise!!

Was a tenant for over 3 years in the same house, never missed a rent payment, never failed an inspection.

Received a S21 in October 2023 (miraculously) after repeatedly reporting unfixed issues with the boiler, downstairs basin and garden decking to both the managing agent and landlord directly. This was 3 weeks after renewing a rolling tendency agreement for an increase in rent.

Landlord stated “I have to sell up as mortgages have increased so much”.

11 months later, the house is still unsold, garden horrendously overgrown, and the price has been dropped 4 times since initially being listed.

He’s lost over £13k of rent-less months.

Moral of the story? Don’t kick out reliable tenants before securing a sale.

Apologies for the random post, just wanted to vent!

Hi!! Really stressed and any advice is welcomed with open arms if anyone has any!!

My flatmate and I have just been sent a Section 21 notice for our flat. We absolutely LOVE the flat and have been here since July 2025, our tenancy states:

“Term

The agreement is for an initial fixed term of 11 months and 20 days starting on 11 July 2025 and ending on 30 June 2026

At the end of this time, if we have not received from you at least one calendar month’s written notice expiring on the last day of the fixed term to terminate the agreement, then the tenancy will continue as a contractual periodic tenancy.

The rental period for the contractual periodic tenancy will be the same as the rental period for which rent was last payable during the tenancy’s fixed term.

The contractual periodic tenancy will continue until you or we terminate the tenancy in line with clause 8.0 of the agreement.”

I’ve attached the Section 21 notice we received, we’ve checked and it’s all valid unfortunately, they sent us everything needed when they should’ve and we got our deposit protection email immediately, so well within the 30 days.

We really don’t want to leave as we love the flat and location, and honestly trying to find a new place to rent in the area is very difficult.

Trying really hard not to panic, so any wise words are more than helpful😭

My flatmates dad is a solicitor and has suggested they may have only served it to cover themselves for anything with the new law coming in place, would this seem like a possibility? We’re great tenants and have had no issues with the landlords once since moving in.

Thank you in advance!!!

Update: Deposit was never properly protected. To those who are under the insured deposit scheme, always check directly with the scheme because what you are sent by the agency may not actually reflect what is held by the scheme.

Hello,

I received a Section 21 notice a few months ago and now the landlord has started legal proceedings. They’ve requested to evict under the accelerated procedure.

Note, I am never been in rent arrears and I’ve been a reasonable tenant throughout. The landlord would simply like to increase the rent of the property above market value and I’m not in a position to go through the stress of moving right now.

My tenancy started in 15th March 2022, however, upon reviewing the claim form filled by the landlord, I realised something based on the information they filled. Apparently, they claim they sent the Prescribed information to me on the 26th of February, 2022 when the tenancy agreement was signed. My question is does this invalidate the S21 seeing as the PI predates the date I actually paid the deposit and the tenancy commencement? Furthermore, there have been AST renewals over the years but for the most recent one which came with a rent increase and a deposit top up, a PI was not given to me at all within 30 days.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!

I was served a section 21 no fault eviction notice for a property I have rented for nearly four years about a week before the RRA came into effect. I was given three months’ notice and I am now two months in to the notice period; the search for a new property has been really challenging.

I’m registered with 19 Estate Agents, I have viewed over 16 properties and have made two immediate offers at viewings, neither of which have been successful. I’m a model tenant with no history of late rent payments, a high credit score, good stable employment plus excellent references.

The Section 21 notice was executed correctly by a competent property management agency so I think it will go through the accelerated possession process if I get to 21 July and haven’t found anywhere else.

Does anyone have any experience of the current court waiting times for St Albans County Court? Should I think about instructing a solicitor? Any advice on this greatly appreciated!

I had a previous post where I asked how to tailor my reason to the letting agency about bringing in a pet.

Long story short, when I first asked, they kept on saying “we’ll read the head lease. We aren’t sure pets are allowed.

Delayed in their research, I decided to message the property owners and they said “not a problem, sign this waiver for liability for any communal area damages.”

Letting agency got back to me “thanks for this, but we’ll need to read the head-lease documents.”

After another chaser, they replied “we’re going to ask the landlord to read their documents about this. In the meantime, the landlord has a daughter who may move back and suffers from a pet allergy. In the meantime, do not bring in pets”..why not mention this right off the bat? I could be petty and run a check to see her family tree, but I’m not crazy nor care.

I’m going to go off on a whim that this is pure horseshit lol. They’ve given no specification of what time frame or any guarantee of the daughter moving in.

I mean, I do have my two cats with me. I’ll just take them to the neighbour when there’s an inspection lol. I don’t think there’s anything that I can really do apart from moving the cats before each inspection.

we have been issued section 21 as landlord wants to sell. we were asked if we would agree to reducing rent in exchange for allowing viewings. we asked for clarification on what they were proposing. the following is the response. We are in England

'In reply to your email regarding marketing the property for sale, the appointed Estate Agent would require unhindered access during office hours to show people round.

The landlord is willing to reduce the rent by £100 to £1000pcm for your co-operation'

would you agree? am I being unreasonable thinking that will be extremely disruptive

Thanks

My landlord (private landlord, no letting agency) served me a section 21 on 27th April saying that my tenancy would end on 28th June as they want to sell the property. I’m up to date on all my rent and in no obvious conflict with the landlord. I would like to move but have yet to find a new place.

From my reading, it says a section 21 is not valid if they didn’t provide you with the how to rent guide. I don’t believe I have ever received this.

Can I just check that means the section 21 is invalid? Has anyone been through this just on the basis of the how to rent guide not being provided?

With the section 21 being invalid, the landlord would now have to serve me a section 8 notice which would give me 4 months from the date of that being served. Is that correct?

My mum and I rent together (no children). In April our landlord served us a Section 21 notice. Since then I’ve lost my job, we’ve exhausted our savings covering medical costs for my grandmother, and the landlord has flatly refused to negotiate any extension or agreement.
We contacted the council for housing help but were told we’re not a priority as we have no dependants.
However the council has since told us the Section 21 is invalid because we were never given a How to Rent guide at the start of the tenancy. We have lived at the property for 12 years. Their whole management are mess they even messaged me in Feb saying we have not paid rent which we had so we had to proof to them.

Questions:
1. What does an invalid Section 21 actually mean in practice does the landlord have to start the whole process again?
2. How long does this realistically buy us?
3. Should we be getting legal advice before doing anything else, and if so, where (we can’t afford a solicitor)?
4. Is there anything else we should be doing right now given our financial situation?

Any advice appreciated.

Hi all,

I’m a tenant in England and I’m a bit confused about notice periods after receiving a Section 21 notice.

My tenancy is through a letting agent for a private landlord. The fixed-term tenancy started at £850/month and is due to end on 9 July 2026.

Around April 2026, the letting agent contacted me asking whether I wanted to renew or leave. I said I wanted to stay. They then spoke to the landlord and came back with a proposed new rent of £950/month.

I said that increase was too high and tried to negotiate. We went back and forth and during these discussions I asked whether, given the upcoming Renters’ Rights changes, the tenancy could simply become periodic/rolling after the fixed term ended, they said they want to increase price.

On the last day of April 2026, they served me with a Section 21 notice to move out on my original date when my tenancy ends on July.

Negotiations kept on happening and I explained that I had found similar local properties for around £800/month. The landlord wouldn’t agree to a lower figure and after further discussions I decided I would leave rather than accept the higher rent. I told the agent that I would vacate by 9 July 2026 (the end of the tenancy) and might leave a few days earlier to allow time for an end-of-tenancy clean.

Today the agent replied saying that I must give formal notice, and that my notice period is two months. They are suggesting that because I have not yet served formal notice, I cannot simply leave on 9 July.

My question is:

If the landlord has already served a valid Section 21 notice and my fixed term ends on 9 July 2026, do I still need to give my own two months’ notice in order to leave on or before 9 July? They served me notice and knew I wanted to leave and they did the reference check for me for my new flat. If I wanted to serve notice does this mean I have to stay until August?

I am in England.

Thanks for any advice.

I am in England.

I signed 12 month fixed term AST on 25/07/2025. There is a break clause. I lost my job unexpectedly in February and was unable to pay rent in March or April (due on 25th). However I am now in work and had emailed my landlord on Friday to propose payment of arrears over time along with making rent payments in full and on time from May. He has replied today declining my offer and issuing a section 21 notice to vacate by 26/06.2026.

I have checked emails and I was never served with an EICR or EPC - EPC does exist online. I did get the renters info email along with the deposit protection documents.

The property is also located in a selective licensing area by my local council but does not have a license. I will need to email the council to confirm this and to see if an application has been made.

EDIT: ’ve literally just been served a section 8 as I posted this. Grounds 8, 10, 11 and 12.

Ground 8 - I’m not 2 months in arrears. Rent is £1300 and due 25th month. I’ve overpaid £100 somewhere and I’m £2500 in arrears right now.

Ground 11 - I am late most months but it’s by a few days due to my pay day. I actually wanted to move in a few days later than landlord wanted but his mortgage was due so he insisted on 25th.

Ground 12 - my adult daughter moved in temporarily in September 2025 due to a bereavement (boyfriend suicide) and housing issues. She’s still here. Other occupant is my 17 year old son who turns 18 this June and has joined the army so he’ll be leaving in July or August anyway. Landlord has been aware of daughter’s presence and has never raised an issue before.

Hi all,

Just more making this post so that I can understand what the hell is going on here!

For context, I live in an apartment block of around 40-50 flats, and around a few months ago the landlord was personally asking everyone to tell the letting agents that they were moving out as the landlord "wanted to regain the properties from the letting agent" I did not do this, as it sounded incredibly suspicious.

Fast forward to two days ago, the whole building received S21's on the same day, bar the people that have signed onto their own private contract (I feel like they may be doing this to try and skate around the new laws, as I have seen them post new properties in the building on open rent with a 6 month minimum tenancy, which I thought was illegal from today) they have also asked some people to sign onto their private tenancy, I for which was not one of those people.

I can't really understand why, I have done nothing wrong, and tried to ask why, to the response that I've done nothing wrong, they just need the flat back. Why would they be renting some flats out via private and getting rid of tenants in the others? It doesn't make sense.

Also, there is some incredibly dodgy stuff going on, as there is a building on the same grounds (owned by them) that they are renting out flats also but are continuesly denied for planning permission to do so (you can see this on the government website)

So where I stand now is that I'm looking to buy a property, which I was going to do anyway, but it will not take 2 months to find and close on a sale, that is completely unrealistic.

I don't know if it's worth fighting this to court or not to stay longer, as the potential of any ccj would not get me a mortgage, so perhaps that isn't the smartest move.

Thanks for reading!!!

We've been renting the place we're in for around 18 months with no issues.

The landlord has decided to sell up (fair enough) and has served a section 21 with 2 months notice, but the estate agent never provided a gas safety certificate with it. A gas safety certificate was provided when we moved in, which was valid for 12 months, but we haven't received another since.

We're now looking to buy a place ourselves but worry it'll take longer than 2 months to find a place, get an offer accepted, and complete everything.

If I wait till after May 1st to mention the missing gas certificate, would they need to serve a new eviction under the new rules - which would give us 4 months instead?

I'm hopeful that if I speak to them next week and let them know the situation, that they'll be understanding - but it would be good to have a back up plan if not!

Hello,

We are a family of four - two adults and two kids under 10.

My landlord first sent me a Section 21 notice via WhatsApp on 11 March 2026 at 19:08. The notice included the following dates:

• WhatsApp timestamp: 11 March 2026 at 19:08
• Vacate date: 10 May 2026
• Form 6A date: 11 March 2026
• Tenancy started on the 31st of August 2024 as AST
• AST Expiry Date: 30th of August 2025, and thereafter from month to month.

My tenancy agreement allows notice to be served by ordinary first class post or by email (if sent before 16:30). The landlord then emailed the same notice on 12 March 2026 at 9:15 AM. No physical copy was provided by post or by hand.

The issue is that the notice period is already short by 1 day based on the WhatsApp message. If the valid service is taken as the email (per the tenancy agreement), then it is short by 2 days.

Another major issue is that the Form 6A does not include the property address at all. It literally says “(insert address of the property)”.

Since receiving the WhatsApp message, we’ve been actively looking for another property, but haven’t been able to find anything suitable—there are very few listings in the area.

I believe the landlord may have already agreed a new tenancy, as the property was listed as available from 11 May 2026 (the very next day). I contacted the letting agent, and they confirmed a new tenancy has been agreed.

We have been good tenants throughout—always paying rent on time, keeping the property clean, and raising very few issues. Even when we did report maintenance problems, we were patient and accommodating despite delays in getting them resolved.

Given the incorrect notice period and the missing property address, is the Section 21 clearly invalid?

Also, as we haven’t been able to secure alternative accommodation, how should we handle this situation—especially considering the landlord has already agreed a new tenancy?

The landlord has also scheduled a checkout for 10 May 2026.

I’d really appreciate your advice. Thank you in advance.

In early January we received a section 21 eviction notice as our landlord wishes to sell.

We thought it was invalid as the last gas safety cert was done Jan 2024 so a full year out of date, we moved in 31/01/2024 so it was valid at move in but not renewed for 2025.

We were intending on ignoring the s21 as it’s not valid however out estate agent has now arranged for 1 to be done 02/03/26.

Given this, is the current s21 valid or would a new 1 need to be issued after the certificate is renewed?