Hello Readers,
Now that the Renters’ Rights Act is in force, landlords are needing to adjust accordingly but one thing that may easily be overlooked is the deadline for possession proceedings on Section 21 notices issued before 1st May.
You might not know this, but 31st July is the final date landlords can submit a possession claim to the court using a Section 21 notice served before 1st May. If the claim has not been issued by this deadline, the Section 21 notice can no longer be relied upon and landlords will instead need to start again using the Section 8 process.
Further, if this deadline is missed landlords will need to ensure they serve the tenant info sheet as it did not need to be issued where there was a live Section 21 notice.
Here’s what I mean by ‘starting possession proceedings’
- Must have served a valid Section 21 notice on the tenant
- Wait for the notice period to expire which is two months
- If the tenant doesn’t leave, issue a possession claim in the county court. This is what “starting possession proceedings” means
- The court considers the claim. If everything is valid, it usually grants a possession order
- The tenant is given a date to vacate. If they still don’t leave, a Warrant of Possession must be applied for.
- County Court bailiffs or High Court Enforcement Officers attend the property to carry out the eviction
It is worth noting that the 31st July 2026 deadline is just for the Landlord to put in their claim for possession, not for the full possession notice to be carried out which will continue after that deadline, so the time taken from claim to successful repossession will not prevent the landlord completing repossession.
If you have a Section 21 notice that has not yet progressed to court, don’t assume there is still plenty of time. My advice here is that if you’re in the situation where you have a Section 21 notice in the queue to seek specialist legal advice so as you can handle proceedings in the right way.
I’d like to say a huge thank you to Laurence Deacon at Ali Legal Ltd, who has assisted with the information in this article and would wholeheartedly recommend Laurence if you have any urgent questions relating to this – you can reach Laurence directly by email on laurence@alilegal.co.uk.
If you need any advice or support on this issue, or any other tenancy or property management query, feel free to reach me by emailing hasan@home-share.co.uk
Hasan
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