Ch-ch-ch-changes! Transition from “No Fault” to “Fault” based evictions

This is the second of three articles exploring upcoming reforms in the private rental sector following the Royal Assent of the Renters Rights Act 2025. The aim is to provide an overview of upcoming changes and what this may mean for Landlords, Agents and Tenants alike who work with short-term lets.

In our last article, we touched on the abolishment of Assured Shorthold Tenancies and “No Fault” evictions on 1 May 2026. Whilst many of those changes may seem swift, there is no doubt that “No Fault” evictions face a slow but eventful erasure from the law.

It is rare for major changes in the law to be met with a clean cut-off date. Instead, there is usually a transition period where the old law still has some effect, subject to conditions, whilst the new law beds in. This is exactly the case for the abolishment of “No Fault” evictions.

Before 1 May 2026, landlords and their agents may still be able to serve valid “no-fault” eviction notices on tenants. Where a valid “no-fault” eviction notice is served before 1 May 2026, landlords and agents will have until that notice becomes “time-barred” to issue possession proceedings based on it, should the tenant fail to leave the property. Usually, this will mean that Landlords will have about 6 months from the date of service of the Section 21 Notice to issue possession proceedings in Court (noting that there are times when Landlords may have longer or less than 6 months to issue proceedings in certain circumstances). In practice, this will mean that the Court will still be determining “No Fault” evictions long after they are abolished on 1 May 2026.

The key ingredient in this process is that a “valid” notice must be served. Those who may have undertaken “No Fault” evictions previously may recall that serving a valid notice is easier said than done. The validity of “No Fault” eviction notices depends on the Landlord and/or their Agents properly undertaking certain statutory tasks on time, providing Tenants with vital paperwork relating to their property and also only taking those fees which are permitted by the Tenants Fees Act 2019. In a long-standing Landlord and Tenant relationship, where the laws on such matters seem to change every few years, there can be quite a history to go through before considering whether a valid notice can or has been served. Like history, there are some aspects of these statutory tasks which one cannot go back in time to correct. Though there is a lot that can be done to ensure a valid notice is served in most cases.

Those Landlords and their Agents looking to make use of the “No Fault” and the transition period may do well to promptly seek legal advice before 1 May 2026. Taking that advice well in advance of the deadline may mean certain corrective steps can be taken to boost the chances of a successful “No Fault” eviction or defend against any challenge to its validity by a Tenant who wants to stay put.

On the flip side, Tenants may want to seek advice where they have been recently served with a “No Fault” eviction notice. In particular, they may want to take advice on whether that notice is valid and whether they can sit tight waiting for the new and improved renters’ rights to take place and avoid changing home.

Whilst this article may look at this interim period, the next article will look at the future of evictions. The future takes the form of “Fault” based eviction – though these have existed concurrently with “No Fault” evictions for some time, these are also subject to changes because of the Renters Rights Act 2025.

Written by Sadie Cunningham, Associate Solicitor, Judge & Priestley LLP.

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