Following the abolition of “no fault” evictions on 1 May 2026, the Court of Appeal’s decision in Muca v El Amrani has thrown doubt on the validity of existing section 21 notices.

Published: 15 May 2026
Author: Simon Foster

Following the rush to serve section 21 notices ahead of the abolition of “no‑fault” evictions on 1 May 2026, many landlords will have been breathing a sigh of relief and hoping they had successfully navigated the transition to the new Renters’ Rights Act regime of open‑ended periodic tenancies and reformed rent review procedures.

However, the Court of Appeal’s decision in Muca v El Amrani – handed down on the eve of section 21’s abolition – has thrown a significant complication into that assessment.

The legal background

To serve a valid notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, a landlord needed to have complied with certain prescribed requirements. One of these is the gas safety obligation: the landlord must provide the tenant with a valid gas safety certificate (GSC) before the tenant first goes into occupation, and again after each subsequent inspection.

Until recently, uncertainty remained over whether a failure to provide the initial GSC could be remedied later.

The Court of Appeal’s decision

The Court of Appeal has now confirmed that failure to provide a GSC before the start of the tenancy is an irremediable breach. Where that requirement has not been met, the landlord can never serve a valid section 21 notice in respect of the tenancy.

The court made it clear that late service of the GSC does not cure the breach. Even where all subsequent certificates are provided, section 21 cannot be relied upon to recover possession.

This settles a long‑standing divergence of approach in the lower courts and brings much‑needed clarity – albeit with significant consequences for affected landlords.

Why this still matters

Although section 21 notices can no longer be served, existing notices served before 1 May 2026 may still be relied upon, provided proceedings are issued by 31 July 2026 under the transitional arrangements – and provided that the notice is valid.

Muca v El Amrani is therefore critical when assessing the viability of any ongoing or contemplated claims based on historic section 21 notices. Where the initial gas safety certificate was not provided before occupation, those claims are vulnerable to being struck out.

In such cases and following the changes brought in by the Act, landlords will be required to start again by serving a section 8 notice, specifying statutory grounds for possession. This inevitably carries greater evidential burden, cost and delay.

Ongoing compliance under the new regime

While serving new s.21 notices will no longer be possible, gas safety obligations remain firmly in place.

Under the new regime, landlords must ensure all new tenants are informed of their gas safety obligations through the Written Statement of Terms (whether incorporated into the tenancy agreement or provided as a standalone document), including the requirement to provide copies of gas safety records. These obligations are also expected to feed into the forthcoming landlord database requirements.

In the meantime, it is crucial that all landlords remember their first obligation under the new regime – to serve Information Sheets on their existing tenants by no later than 31 May 2026. Landlords of student accommodation should double-diarise this date if they intend to rely on the transitional provisions of the Act and regain possession this summer, as the deadline to serve a warning notice of their intention to rely on Ground 4A is also 31 May 2026.

Next steps

Landlords (and their advisers) should carefully review any live section 21 notices and related proceedings to ensure they remain legally sound in light of Muca v El Amrani.

If you would like assistance reviewing existing notices or understanding the possession options now available under the Renters’ Rights Act regime, please contact Simon Foster, who leads Shoosmiths’ specialist residential possession team.