If you served a valid Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026 and your tenant has not moved out, you may only have until 31 July 2026 to ask the court to issue possession proceedings. The actual deadline is the earlier of 31 July 2026 or the date your notice expires, so do not assume every legacy notice lasts until the end of July.
Miss the relevant deadline and the notice can no longer be used. You then need to start again under Section 8, using a recognised ground and the evidence to support it. For a London landlord sitting on an unresolved notice, this is the date that matters most.
Section 21 ended for new notices on 1 May 2026, when the Renters’ Rights Act took effect. You cannot serve a fresh one. What remains is a narrow transition window for notices that were already valid before that date.
What counts as a legacy Section 21 notice?
A legacy notice is one served before 1 May 2026 and still valid immediately before that date. It only holds up if the usual conditions were met at the time, including the correct notice period, deposit protection and the required compliance documents.
If the notice was invalid when served, the July deadline will not rescue it. You should also check whether your tenancy has already shifted to a periodic one, because the wording and timing of the old notice may need closer review.
The 31 July 2026 deadline in plain terms
The transition rules allow a landlord to rely on a pre-1 May Section 21 notice only for a limited time. You can use it to start court proceedings up to and including the earlier of the remaining time on the notice or 31 July 2026.
The court application is the trigger, not the eviction itself. You do not need the case concluded by 31 July. You need the claim issued in time. Given how possession hearings actually work, leaving it to the final week is a risk worth avoiding.
| Date | What it means |
|---|---|
| Before 1 May 2026 | Last point at which a Section 21 notice could be served |
| 1 May 2026 | Section 21 abolished for new notices. Section 8 becomes the main route |
| 31 May 2026 | Deadline to give existing tenants the government information sheet where required |
| 31 July 2026 | Latest date to apply to court on many valid legacy Section 21 notices, unless the notice expires earlier |
What to do now
If you have a live notice, treat the next few weeks as a deadline period. Check the service date, confirm the notice was valid when served, and decide quickly whether the tenant is leaving voluntarily or whether you need a court order.
Get your evidence for possession in order before you file. If anything about the notice, dates or paperwork is unclear, speak to a solicitor before relying on it.
If the notice has lapsed or was flawed, your route is now Section 8. That means choosing the correct ground, serving the right form and being ready to prove your case. Many claims fall over on detail, so it pays to understand the common Section 8 notice mistakes and the notice periods under the reformed regime first. Our tenant eviction services in London cover exactly this stage.
Why London landlords feel this more
London carries a large share of the national caseload. In Q4 2025, London courts handled 7,253 landlord possession claims, around 34% of the total for England and Wales, according to Ministry of Justice figures. The median time from landlord claim to repossession was 27 weeks nationally, so delay matters.
Take a common situation. You let a flat in Walthamstow on an old assured shorthold tenancy, served a Section 21 notice in February 2026, and the tenant stayed. Unless you apply to the court in time, that notice may be worthless and you will need to restart under Section 8.
Where rent arrears are involved, our debt recovery service can run alongside the possession claim, and for wider disputes our civil litigation team can step in.
FAQs
Can I still serve a Section 21 notice in 2026?
No. From 1 May 2026, you cannot serve a new Section 21 notice. Possession now normally runs through Section 8, using a recognised ground.
What happens if I miss the 31 July 2026 deadline?
You cannot rely on that legacy Section 21 notice after the relevant deadline. You will usually need to begin again under Section 8.
Does the deadline mean my tenant must be evicted by 31 July?
No. You need to have applied to the court in time. The hearing, order and any eviction can follow later.
Can my tenant raise disrepair to slow the claim down?
Yes. A tenant can bring a housing disrepair claim as a counterclaim, which is why managing disrepair counterclaims during possession matters. Good records help.
Talk to us before the deadline passes
If you are holding a legacy Section 21 notice, do not wait for July. Our landlord and tenant advice from experienced London solicitors will tell you quickly whether your notice still works and what to file. Call Atalaw Solicitors on 020 3581 9293 or email info@atalawsolicitors.com to get your possession claim moving.