Hi, all.
We served S21 beginning of September. Our TT now asked us for another month to find a new flat, which will make it three. We agreed.
Now with the new law we only have 3 months to apply for possession. Plus, we don’t know if 3 months is measured to to day the court papers are submitted or the date the court registers the application.
What do we do now? S21 is dated 1st of September.
Thanks for your advice.
This is not a new scenario. There has always been a 6 month time limit to apply for court action after serving a s21. The notice doesnt end the tenancy so at some point before the deadline, you will have to decide if you want to go ahead with a possession claim. I’d suggest you check the current time to register a claim with the court and act accordingly. Either way I wouldnt leave it any later than month 5
The new law is not in effect yet. It’s received Royal Assent, but the commencement date has not yet been announced, so business as normal for now.
The info I have from an official source, but still vague:
“Housing update
What you need to know now
The Renters Rights Act 2025 - England only
The Renters Rights Bill received royal assent on 27 October 2025 so it is now an act.
We do not have specific implementation dates for the various provisions yet. There has been speculation as to when section 21 notices will be abolished with dates ranging from January 2026 to June 2026.”
Simply put have they agreed to move out in writing and are there any appearances of them getting ready to move? If so you dont need to do anything, if they dont move then go to court thereafter.
Incidentally i had given a section 21 to a tenant and they just disappeared without paying rent last week ( one month into section 21) so its always an idea to keep in touch somehow. Try and get some commitment in an e mail if you can
Section 21 won’t disappear immediately. Instead, the Government will set what’s known as a ‘commencement date’ marking the start of the Section 21 ban. This means that:
You’ll be able to serve a Section 21 notice up to the day before the commencement date.
After the commencement date, if the Section 21 notice expires, and the tenant hasn’t left the property, you can apply to the court for a possession order under Section 21 within three months of the commencement date. After this, there can be no further applications made under Section 21.
This is from the N R L A. We don’t yet know when the commencement date will be.