Possession notice

Draft. Not counsel-reviewed. ChatLegal is not a solicitor. This is general information about private renting in England (EW), not legal advice, and not representation. Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are not answered on this page.

Eval lockedIn the locked evaluation set. Not a counsel-reviewed page.

Plain-English scope

A possession notice is a landlord's written step before a court can be asked for an order that a tenant leave. This page describes the public GOV.UK account of what changed in England on 1 May 2026, and what GOV.UK says about notices served before that date. It does not say that any particular notice is valid or invalid. It does not take the tenant's side or the landlord's side.

If the property is in Wales, use the Welsh Government guide linked below and get local advice. If it is in Scotland or Northern Ireland, do not use this page. Those jurisdictions need their own tags (SCT, NIR).

What changed on 1 May 2026

GOV.UK says most assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, and that from that date tenants can no longer be evicted using the "no fault" section 21 process. If a court process was started before 1 May 2026, in some cases it can be completed afterwards.

Notices served before 1 May 2026

GOV.UK's guide for tenants who were given a notice before 1 May 2026 says that if the landlord has not already applied to court, it is too late to use a section 21 notice to apply for a possession order. It also says a landlord could apply using a section 21 notice only up to and including 31 July 2026, or the end of the notice if that was earlier. Whether that applies in a real case depends on whether a claim was in fact issued. Check for post from the county court. The guide refers to Form 6A.

[verify] Section 21 transitional rule. The statutory pinpoint is not confirmed. This page follows the GOV.UK guide for the 31 July 2026 rule. Housing Act 1988 section 21 is still on legislation.gov.uk. The gold note records that commencement is defined in the Renters' Rights Act 2025, section 146(3), as seen in an annotation. The savings provisions themselves were not pinpointed. Do not treat this page as the statute.

What a landlord can do now

For assured periodic tenancies, GOV.UK says the landlord must have a valid reason (a ground for possession), give a section 8 notice naming the grounds, and give at least the minimum notice for those grounds. Selling is one of the listed grounds, but it cannot be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy. Notices from 1 May 2026 should use Form 3A. If the tenant does not leave when the notice ends, the landlord has to apply to court. The landlord cannot remove the tenant themselves.

GOV.UK says a landlord seeking possession must show they followed the tenancy deposit rules. An unknown deposit is an open check, not a conclusion about the notice.

[verify] Notice periods. GOV.UK pages do not agree on a single figure. One page says notice is usually 4 months but can be shorter for some grounds. Another says usually at least 2 months, but up to 4 months. This page states no number. Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988, as amended, is not pinpointed here.

Names and links already in the gold note and the curated-laws seed. No other section numbers.

Housing Act 1988 (England and Wales). Section 8 is the section 8 framework cited in the gold note. Section 21 transitional pinpoint: [verify].
Renters' Rights Act 2025. Extent [verify]. Reforms from 1 May 2026 in England. Transitional provisions [verify].

Official guidance

Accessed 3 November 2026.

What ChatLegal will and will not do

ChatLegal can point at the public guides and the statute pages above. It will not draft a defence, a witness statement, or a letter to a landlord or a court. It will not predict whether a landlord will get possession, or when. It will not say to ignore a notice or a court claim. It will not declare a notice valid or invalid.

That is a perspective filter on public information. It is not representation, and nobody here files anything for either side.

Free advice once there is written notice that someone wants possession: Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service. If homelessness is a risk: GOV.UK — if you are homeless or at risk. More routes, as links only: Referrals.

Protocol and evaluation

Both are drafts for a human and for qualified counsel. They are not a reviewed advice note.

Last reviewed

3 November 2026. Role: Product. Draft. Not a counsel-reviewed page.

© Crown and database right. Derived from content available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.