If you own a rental in England, the question you actually want answered is short: from 1 May 2026, how long must you wait to get your property back, and does that answer change depending on why you need it? It does, and the old two-month default you carried in your head for years no longer covers most situations.
This is the full working table, grouped by how much notice each reason now requires, with a worked timeline for the one most landlords will reach for first: selling up.
The mental model that just expired
For a decade the plan was the same. Grant a fixed term, wait for it to run down, and if you wanted the property back for any reason (or no reason), serve a Section 21 notice and give two months.
That model is gone. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, and the core tenancy reforms commence on 1 May 2026 (legislation.gov.uk). From that date:
- Section 21 "no fault" evictions are abolished.
- Fixed terms end. Every assured tenancy becomes periodic and rolls on monthly.
- To end a tenancy, you must use a named ground for possession under Section 8, and each ground carries its own notice period.
So the right question is no longer "how long is a Section 21?" It is "which ground fits my reason, and what notice does that specific ground demand?"
The full 2026 notice period table
These are the grounds a private buy-to-let landlord is most likely to use. The definitive list is Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Renters' Rights Act; a few less common grounds carry their own periods, so check the source before you serve.
Four months' notice: getting your property back
| Ground | What it covers | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | You or a close family member move in | Mandatory |
| 1A | You are selling the property | Mandatory |
| 2 | Lender repossession after mortgage default | Mandatory |
| 4A | Reclaiming a student HMO for the new academic year | Mandatory |
| 6 | Demolition or major redevelopment needing vacant possession | Mandatory |
| 6A | Complying with enforcement or planning action | Mandatory |
Grounds 1 and 1A also cannot be used at all in the first 12 months of a tenancy. More on that below.
Four weeks' notice: rent
| Ground | What it covers | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Serious arrears: at least three months' rent unpaid | Mandatory |
| 10 | Some rent arrears | Discretionary |
| 11 | Persistent late payment | Discretionary |
Two weeks or immediate: breach and behaviour
| Ground | What it covers | Notice |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Breach of a tenancy term | 2 weeks |
| 13 | Damage or neglect of the property | 2 weeks |
| 7B | Tenant has no right to rent | 2 weeks |
| 14 | Anti-social behaviour or nuisance | Proceedings can begin immediately |
"Mandatory" means that if you prove the ground, the court must order possession. "Discretionary" means the judge decides whether it is reasonable, even when the facts are made out. That distinction matters as much as the notice length.
Worked example: serving notice to sell
Take a tenancy that begins on 1 June 2026. You decide in early 2027 that you want to sell with vacant possession, so you reach for Ground 1A.
- Grounds 1 and 1A cannot be used in the first 12 months, so you cannot obtain possession before 1 June 2027.
- The notice period is four months. To have a notice expire on 1 June 2027, you must serve it no earlier than 1 February 2027.
- If the tenant does not leave by 1 June 2027, you then apply to court, and current court timescales add further months.
So a decision to sell made in January 2027 realistically produces vacant possession in the second half of 2027. Under the old Section 21 route that same decision could have delivered possession in roughly two months, from almost day one of the let. Build that longer lead time into any sale plan, and price the holding cost of those extra months into your figures before you commit to a buyer or a chain.
The 12-month lock and the re-let ban
Two features of Grounds 1 and 1A catch landlords out.
First, the protected period: neither ground can be used during the first 12 months of the tenancy. A tenant who moves in on 1 June 2026 cannot be asked to leave on either ground before 1 June 2027, whatever your notice says.
Second, the re-let restriction: if you serve notice on the moving-in or selling ground, you cannot then market or re-let the property to a new tenant for 12 months. Using the sale ground and quietly putting it back on the rental market is an offence and can trigger a financial penalty. If your real plan is to re-let at a higher rent, these grounds are not a workaround.
Rent arrears: the numbers moved against speed
The mandatory arrears ground got harder for landlords in two ways at once. The Ground 8 threshold rose from two months of arrears to three, and the notice period rose from two weeks to four.
A quick illustration. Say the rent is £1,200 a month. To rely on mandatory Ground 8, the tenant must owe at least £3,600 both when you serve notice and at the hearing. If they pay £500 the day before court, dropping the balance below the three-month line, the mandatory ground can fall away and you are left arguing the discretionary arrears grounds instead. Keep a clean, dated rent ledger, because on these grounds the arithmetic is the case.
Existing Section 21 notices and the cut-off
If you served a valid Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, it does not vanish overnight. Those notices remain enforceable through the courts until 31 July 2026 (gov.uk guidance). After that date, any possession claim must run on a Section 8 ground. If you are already mid-process, diarise 31 July 2026 as a hard stop and take advice on whether to issue in good time.
What this changes for your planning
The practical shift is from "notice length" to "lead time". Getting your property back for the common reasons (moving in, selling, redevelopment) now means four months of notice at minimum, a possible 12-month wait before you can even start, and court time on top if the tenant stays. The fast routes that remain (arrears, breach, anti-social behaviour) all turn on evidence you have to build and keep.
Match the reason to the ground early, keep your paperwork tidy, and treat vacant possession as something that takes seasons rather than weeks.
This is general information, not tax or financial advice. Notice periods and commencement details are set by legislation and can change, so confirm the current position on legislation.gov.uk or take advice before serving any notice.
