Section 21 notice validity: outcome guides

Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. These guides cover legacy notices served before abolition that may still be in the court system.

The guides are grouped by topic: deposit protection, prescribed documents (EPC, gas safety, How to Rent), notice timing, prescribed notice form (Form 6A), licensing, Tenant Fees Act compliance, and the retaliatory eviction sequence under the Deregulation Act 2015.

Each guide explains how the Section 21 checker uses one specific legal condition, what evidence matters, and what could change the outcome.

Browse Section 21 validity guides

• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: tenancy was not an assured shorthold tenancy
  Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: tenancy was not an assured shorthold tenancy. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: court proceedings may have been started after the Section 21 deadline
  If your landlord issued court proceedings after the 1 May 2026 transitional deadline, the notice cannot be relied on. Here's what the transition timing rule means for your case.
• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: notice was served in the first four months of the original tenancy
  Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: notice was served in the first four months of the original tenancy. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: notice gave less than two months before possession was required
  Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: notice gave less than two months before possession was required. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: Form 6A or equivalent information was not used
  Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: Form 6A or equivalent information was not used. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: deposit was not protected
  Landlord didn't protect your deposit in an approved scheme? Their Section 21 notice has no legal force. Check the rules and your options. Free.
• More information is needed: I do not know whether the deposit was protected
  Don't know if your landlord protected your deposit? Here's how to check in 2 minutes, and what it means for your Section 21 notice.
• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: deposit was protected more than 30 days after it was paid
  Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: deposit was protected more than 30 days after it was paid. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: prescribed deposit information was not served
  Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: prescribed deposit information was not served. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: prescribed information was served more than 30 days after the deposit was paid
  Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: prescribed information was served more than 30 days after the deposit was paid. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• Your Section 21 notice needs checking: an EPC was not provided before the notice
  Your Section 21 notice needs checking: an EPC was not provided before the notice. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• Your Section 21 notice needs checking: gas safety certificate was not provided before the notice
  Your Section 21 notice needs checking: gas safety certificate was not provided before the notice. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• More information is needed: I do not know whether a gas safety certificate was provided
  If you're not sure whether your landlord gave you a gas safety certificate, your Section 21 notice could be invalid. Here's how to check.
• Your Section 21 notice needs checking: How to Rent guide was not provided
  Your Section 21 notice needs checking: How to Rent guide was not provided. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: required licence was not held or at least applied for
  Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: required licence was not held or at least applied for. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: five or more people from two or more households shared the property and no HMO licence was in place
  Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: five or more people from two or more households shared the property and no HMO licence was in place. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: prohibited payment or holding deposit had not been repaid
  Your Section 21 notice may be invalid: prohibited payment or holding deposit had not been repaid. Learn how the Section 21 checker treats this point, what evidence changes the answer, and what to do next.
• This Section 21 requirement appears met: council did not serve an improvement notice in the last six months
  If no council improvement or emergency remedial notice was served in the last 6 months, this retaliatory-eviction bar doesn't apply, but other Section 21 conditions may still matter.

Use the interactive checker on getrentersrights.com for the full step-by-step result.