The Section 21 Ban (The End of No-Fault Evictions): Is It Going to Happen?

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by Robert Jones, Founder of Property Investments UK
With nearly two decades in UK property, Rob has been investing in buy-to-let since 2005, and uses property data to develop tools for property market analysis.
The proposed banning of Section 21 is very much in the property news at the moment. In this report we will look at what the ban is about and if and when the Section 21 ban is going to happen.
Contents
- What Exactly is Section 21?
- What Exactly is Section 8?
- What Are the Main Problems With Section 21?
- Is There Anything Good About It?
- A Bit of Background
- What Will Replace Section 21?
- When Will the Section 21 Ban Come Into Force?
- So, In Answer to the Question: The Section 21 Ban... Is It Going to Happen?
What Exactly is Section 21?
Section 21 is a key part of landlord-tenant law which affects everybody who lets or rents property in England.
Section 21 is a clause in the Housing Act 1988 titled ‘Recovery of Possession on Expiry or Termination of Assured Shorthold Tenancy’. It relates to landlords who let property on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy or AST. Section 21 means that landlords can give their tenants notice to quit subject to certain conditions without having to give a reason.
Landlords can evict tenants using the Section 21 process once their fixed-term contract ends and their tenancy becomes a periodic tenancy. There are some conditions but generally, they just have to give tenants a minimum two months notice using a Section 21 Notice of Possession. This is done using an official form 6A, Notice Requiring Possession Of A Property In England Let On An Assured Shorthold Tenancy.
If the tenant doesn’t leave following a Section 21 notice a landlord may apply to a court for an order under Section 21(1) or (4) of the Housing Act 1988 requiring them to give up possession of their home.
Section 21 is also sometimes known as the no-fault evictions route. This is because tenants do not need to be at fault to be evicted from their homes.

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What Exactly is Section 8?
Another important clause in the Housing Act 1988 is Section 8. The Section 8 eviction procedure can be used by landlords to evict tenants when they are at fault. For example, if they have not paid the rent.
Section 21 and Section 8 are now only relevant in England. Landlord-tenant law in Scotland and Wales has changed since Section 21 and Section 8 were introduced and these countries have different rules and regulations on eviction.
What Are the Main Problems With Section 21?
Many people argue that the main problem with Section 21 is that it results in insecurity of tenure for tenants. They can be evicted from their home for no reason. Although an Assured Shorthold Tenancy is supposed to give tenants a degree of security Section 21 removes this to some extent. Once the fixed term ends tenants can be evicted even if they have paid their rent on time and abided by the rules of the tenancy.
There have also been claims that Section 21 is used by some landlords as a so-called revenge eviction. That is, if tenants ask for repairs to be done, complain about problems in their property or about rent rises landlords can take revenge by using Section 21 to evict them.
Landlords are also able to use Section 21 to evict tenants if they want to rent the property to tenants who will pay a higher rent. This has become more of an issue in times when rents have been rising.
In simple terms, Section 21 has long been considered a very unfair part of the law.
Is There Anything Good About It?
Supporters of Section 21 argue that landlords need to be able to take back possession of their property at any time they wish. For example, if they need or want to sell their buy to let or move into it themselves or just if they no longer want that tenant.
Another benefit of Section 21 so far as landlords are concerned is that, even in cases where tenants have broken their tenancy agreement, Section 21 is usually a quicker and easier method of evicting them than Section 8. Section 8 can only be used for very specific reasons and the subsequent court eviction process can be complex, expensive and can take a long time.
Buy to let mortgage lenders also generally support the concept of Section 21 because it means that if the landlord defaults on the mortgage they can evict the tenant and repossess their property more easily.
Some supporters of Section 21 argue that it makes investing in property more attractive to investors since it offers an easy way to exit their investment if they want or need to. In that way it helps to increase the supply of rented accommodation.

A Bit of Background
Next, let us look at how the proposal to ban Section 21 came about.
The current government has been saying it will ban the Section 21 eviction procedure since at least 2019. Banning no-fault evictions was a pledge in the 2019 Conservative manifesto.
The government can probably see that a Section 21 ban will be popular with tenants. However, some of their MPs, including some who are also landlords, have been against such a change in the law.
A Fairer Private Rented Sector
In 2022 the government published a white paper titled A Fairer Private Rented Sector. This proposed possible changes to the law including banning Section 21 evictions and introducing a simpler tenancy structure.
The Renters (Reform) Bill
Nothing was done to implement this pledge until spring 2023 when the Renters (Reform) Bill was published. This new piece of proposed legislation is a complete overhaul of landlord-tenant law and contains many proposals. However, it would ban Section 21 evictions by removing this clause from landlord-tenant law.
What Will Replace Section 21?
The Renters (Reform) Bill does not propose a direct replacement for Section 21. Landlords will not be able to evict tenants without a reason. In practice, there will be no such thing as a no-fault eviction process.
It is proposed that there will be a reformed Section 8 eviction process as part of the reformed grounds for possession. This will make it easier and quicker to evict tenants who break their tenancy agreement than it is now.
Although there will be no Section 21 landlords will still be able to evict tenants if they want or need to sell their buy to let or live in it themselves, subject to certain conditions.
When Will the Section 21 Ban Come Into Force?
Whether the Section 21 ban is going to happen or not and when is a very complicated issue! It depends to a great extent on the Renters (Reform) Bill becoming law. This depends on how long it takes to introduce this new law and to some extent on who wins the next general election in the UK and when that might be.
Currently, the Renters (Reform) Bill is working its way through the system in the House of Commons. It will then need to be examined by the House of Lords before it can receive Royal Assent as the Renters (Reform) Act and become law.
Most commentators believe that the earliest the Renters (Reform) Act could become law is the spring of 2024 but it could be later.
However, even if the Renters (Reform) Act becomes law in 2024 the Section 21 ban will probably not happen at the same time.
The government have said that any Section 21 ban will not come into place until the court system has been upgraded so that it can cope properly with the new evictions system proposed under the Renters (Reform) Bill. This process has not yet started and could take many months or even years. Even then there are likely to be transitional measures to allow the Section 21 ban to be implemented gradually for both new and existing tenancies.
The next general election in the UK could change the situation completely!
If the Conservative party forms the next government the Section 21 ban will probably go ahead, but not immediately.
If the Labour Party forms the next government the Renters (Reform) Bill may not become law as proposed, or even at all.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has been reported as saying that if they come into power they will ban Section 21 evictions on their first day in office. However, they would presumably still need to introduce some kind of new legislation to do this, which is likely to take some time.
If neither of these parties can form the next government it is anyone’s guess if the Section 21 ban will happen.
So, In Answer to the Question: The Section 21 Ban... Is It Going to Happen?
The best answer is probably, yes, the Section 21 ban will come into force at some point. But currently, it is impossible to know for sure when this might be.