Received a Section 21 notice for a home in England? The Section 21 Response Letter writes your reply to the landlord. It works out whether the notice was given before or after 1 May 2026, sets out each problem with it in turn, and says what you want the landlord to do, by when, and what you will do next. No new Section 21 notice can be given from 1 May 2026, and a notice given before then stays valid only where the landlord requested the court to issue the claim form before the applicable period ended, at the latest 31 July 2026, and then until those proceedings conclude (Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Schedule 6, paragraphs 3 and 4). Pro and Elite plans.
Write your Section 21 response →Landlords: no new Section 21 notice can be given from 1 May 2026. The current official tenancy forms, including the Section 8 notice (Form 3A), are on our official forms page, linked straight to gov.uk.
A Section 21 notice was the no-fault possession notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988: landlords used it to end an assured shorthold tenancy without giving a reason, on the prescribed form (Form 6A in England). Section 2 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 omits the chapter of the Housing Act 1988 that contained section 21, from 1 May 2026. From that date no new Section 21 notice can be given for a private tenancy in England, whenever the tenancy began, and a notice given on or after 1 May 2026 is invalid.
It writes a letter from you to your landlord about the Section 21 notice you received. For a notice given on or after 1 May 2026, it tells the landlord the notice is invalid. For a notice given before then, it sets out each ground in turn: whether your deposit is held in an authorised scheme and the prescribed information was given within 30 days, whether you were given the How to Rent guide, and any point you raise about the form, the notice period or a certificate, which it asks the landlord to answer and evidence. It ends with what you want the landlord to do and by when, and what you will do next.
A notice given on or after 1 May 2026 is invalid. A notice given before then stays valid only where the landlord requested the court to issue the claim form in time, at the latest 31 July 2026 (Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Schedule 6, paragraphs 3 and 4). Under the rules that applied to shorthold tenancies, no Section 21 notice could be given while the deposit was not held in an authorised scheme, while the scheme’s initial requirements had not been met, or until the prescribed information had been given (Housing Act 2004, section 215). If the deposit was not protected or the prescribed information was not given, you can apply to the county court, which must order the landlord to pay not less than the deposit and not more than three times it (Housing Act 2004, section 214). This is general information, not legal advice.
No. From 1 May 2026 no new Section 21 notice can be given for a private tenancy in England, whenever the tenancy began. A notice given before 1 May 2026 stays valid only where the landlord requested the court to issue the claim form before the applicable period ended, at the latest 31 July 2026, and then until those proceedings conclude (Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Schedule 6, paragraphs 3 and 4). The current official tenancy forms, including the Section 8 notice (Form 3A), are on our official forms page.
No. The Section 21 Response Letter needs Pro or Elite, because the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 transition makes validity checking essential. The Free tier covers other templates.
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