What does the pledge mean?

Currently, landlords in England can evict tenants on assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs), the most common type of tenancy in the private rental sector, without giving a reason for doing so, by using a Section 21 notice. ‘Section 21’ in this context refers to the legal provision that allows this practice, in the Housing Act 1988.

Landlords can use this notice either after a fixed term tenancy ends or during a tenancy with no fixed end date (also called a ‘periodic’ or ‘rolling’ tenancy).

A Section 21 notice is also referred to as a ‘no fault’ eviction, which distinguishes it from a Section 8 eviction, used when a tenant has broken the terms of their contract, such as not paying rent.

Landlords are required to give at least two months’ notice when serving a Section 21. There are some circumstances in which they are not allowed to use this as a means to evict tenants—for example, if they have not repaid any unlawful fees or deposits charged to the tenant.

As housing is devolved, there are different rules governing the eviction of tenants in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. As such, this pledge applies to England.

In the social housing sector, the majority of tenants do not have an AST, meaning Section 21 cannot be used. Many of these tenants have assured tenancies, which are lifelong and can only be terminated by the tenant or on the grounds of contract breach.

However, there remain some social housing tenants who are on shorthold or starter tenancies, where Section 21 evictions can be used.

What progress has been made?

The Renters’ Rights Bill—introduced to Parliament in September 2024—is currently progressing through Parliament and, if passed, will scrap Section 21 notices as a means of ‘no fault’ eviction in the private rental sector. Section 21 notices will also be abolished for social housing tenants on ASTs or starter tenancies, although the government says this new system will apply at a later date than the private rental sector ban.

For this reason, we are rating this pledge as “appears on track”.

Under the changes included in the Bill, ASTs (which can be called a ‘fixed term tenancy’ when tenants and landlords have agreed a finite period of time for the tenancy) in the private rented sector will be converted to ‘rolling’ tenancies. These can be ended when a tenant gives two months’ notice. Tenants will be given an initial 12-month protected period where a landlord cannot evict them in order to move into or sell the property, and landlords will have to give tenants four months’ notice, instead of two, if they wish to use these grounds as a reason for eviction.

While Labour’s manifesto pledged to ban Section 21 evictions “immediately”, as of May 2025, legislation to this effect had not yet been passed.

However, the measure was included in the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024, which set out the government’s first legislative agenda. And in October 2024 housing secretary Angela Rayner said the government was “determined to get this Bill into law as soon as possible”. So while Section 21 evictions have not been banned “immediately”, it appears that work began shortly after the election towards meeting that goal.

As of May 2025, it was not yet known when the changes in the Bill would come into force, as the date will be specified by the government once the Bill has passed. In the same month, housing minister Matthew Pennycook said the government will give landlords “sufficient notice” ahead of implementation.

However, some campaigners have raised concerns that landlords could use the grounds in the legislation of selling or moving into their let property as a means of ‘no fault’ eviction, even when Section 21 is abolished.

Dr Charlie Berry, policy manager at housing charity Shelter, told Full Fact: “There will also remain some ‘no fault’ grounds for eviction after the Bill passes, including if a landlord wants to sell or move into the property.

“Scotland has undergone similar reforms in recent years and research there shows that one in five landlord sale evictions did not result in a sale. So we think the government should go further to make these grounds watertight by specifying the evidence that landlords need to give in order to prove they intend to sell or move into a property.” (This refers to research which suggests that after Scotland made similar moves to abolish ‘no fault’ evictions, some repossessions on grounds of a house sale did not actually result in a sale.)

But a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told us it did not recognise that claim. They said: “The misuse of the system or any attempt to find loopholes to unlawfully evict tenants will not be tolerated, and we will take whatever action necessary to prevent it.”