What does the pledge mean?

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

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

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

While the majority of tenants in the social housing sector have an assured tenancy, rather than an AST, meaning Section 21 can’t be used, there remain some social housing tenants on assured shorthold or starter tenancies, where Section 21 evictions can be used.

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

As this pledge appeared in a paragraph and sentence of Labour’s manifesto that made several references to the private rented sector, we’re assuming that it refers specifically to Section 21 notices for that sector (rather than the social rented sector).

The government has also since said that is the case, stating that: “The Renters’ Rights Act delivers our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting.”

What progress has been made?

The Renters’ Rights Act passed into law on 27 October 2025. From May 2026 it scrapped Section 21 notices as a means of ‘no fault’ eviction in the private rental sector, so we’re now rating this pledge as “achieved”.

Under the changes included in the Act, ASTs in the private rented sector have been converted to ‘rolling’ tenancies. These can be ended when a tenant gives two months’ notice. Tenants are given an initial 12-month protected period where a landlord cannot evict them in order to move into or sell the property, and after that landlords have to give tenants four months’ notice, instead of two, if they wish to use these grounds as a reason for eviction.

If a private landlord served a tenant with a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, transition provisions mean court proceedings must start by 31 July.

Section 21 notices will also be abolished for social housing tenants on ASTs or starter tenancies, though this will be introduced in 2027.

The Renters’ Rights Bill was included in the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024, which set out the government’s first legislative agenda, before being introduced to Parliament in September 2024. So while Section 21 evictions were not banned “immediately”, it does appear that work began shortly after the election towards meeting that goal.