If you served a Section 21 notice on a tenant before 1 May 2026 and you have not yet started court proceedings, you have four days left.
This is not a soft deadline. On 31 July 2026, any pre-May Section 21 notice that has not had a court claim issued becomes time-barred. The notice dies. You cannot rely on it, extend it, or serve another — Section 21 no longer exists.
You would be starting again from scratch under Section 8, with new grounds, new evidence requirements, and a notice period of up to four months before you can even file.
We are writing this because we think a lot of Guildford landlords are about to find out the hard way.
Why this catches people out
The Renters’ Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026. Section 21 — the so-called “no-fault” eviction route — was abolished on that date.
But the Act included transitional protection. If you had already served a valid Section 21 before 1 May, you were allowed to see it through. Understandably, a lot of landlords read that as “my notice is safe” and stopped worrying about it.
It isn’t safe indefinitely. The transitional protection has a hard stop: court proceedings must be issued by 31 July 2026, or within six months of the notice being served, whichever comes first. Miss it, and the notice is worthless.
The landlords most at risk are the ones who served in March or April, had a tenant say they would leave voluntarily, and decided to give them a bit of time rather than rush to court. That is a reasonable, decent thing to do. It is also, as of this Friday, an expensive one.
What to do today
Check whether you have any Section 21 notice served before 1 May that has not yet had a claim issued at court. Not “served” — issued. Serving the notice on the tenant is step one. Issuing the claim at court is a separate step, and it is the one the deadline attaches to.
If you have one, act now, not Thursday. Court claim forms need to be requested and processed. The advice from every landlord association we have seen is not to leave this to the final few days, because if the paperwork is wrong or incomplete you will not have time to fix it.
If you are not sure, treat it as urgent. It costs you nothing to check and potentially a great deal not to.
What happens if you miss it
You go back to the start under the new system. That means identifying a valid Section 8 ground, serving the correct notice with the correct notice period — four months in most cases — and then joining a court queue that is already running at around 34 weeks from claim to possession order, and is widely expected to lengthen as Section 8 claims replace the Section 21 volume that previously went through without a hearing.
Realistically, a missed deadline this week could mean the difference between having your property back this year and having it back late next year.
Want us to look?
We’re a Guildford lettings agency managing properties across the town and surrounding villages. If you’re a landlord — with us, with another agent, or managing yourself — and you want a second pair of eyes on whether a notice is still live, call us.
We’ll tell you straight. No charge and no obligation for a five-minute conversation about a deadline that closes on Friday.
This article is general information about a legal deadline, not legal advice on your specific circumstances. If you have a live possession matter, speak to a solicitor or your landlord association without delay. Property Lounge is ARLA Propertymark accredited.
Need a second opinion?
We’re Property Lounge, an ARLA Propertymark accredited lettings agency in Guildford. If anything above raised a question about your own property, we’re happy to talk it through — whether or not you’re a client, and whether or not you ever become one. No charge, no obligation, and we won’t chase you afterwards.
You can see how our fully managed lettings service works, what it costs, or book a free rental valuation.
Call 01483 369209 or email lettings@propertylounge.co.uk.
