Court of Appeal decision creates new problems for landlords
From 1 May 2026, landlords can no longer use Section 21 to evict tenants unless a valid notice was served before that date. After this deadline, landlords must rely on Section 8 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, meaning they must prove a legal reason for eviction.
However, a Court of Appeal decision handed down on 30 April 2026 – which also happened to be the final day notices could be served – has created further problems.
In the combined appeal, Muca v El Amrani and Harker v Hubert, the issue concerned the validity of section 21 notices where pre-occupation gas safety certificates had not been served on the tenant prior to the start of their tenancy.
In Muca v El Amrani, the tenant moved into the property in 2014, but no gas safety certificate existed at the start of the tenancy and was therefore not given to the tenant. In the second case, Harker v Hubert, a gas safety check had been carried out before the tenant moved in, but the certificate was not provided to them.
In both cases, later annual gas safety checks were completed during the tenancy term and certificates were appropriately served on the tenants. The landlords later tried to use Section 21 notices to evict the tenants.
Failure to provide Gas Safety Certificates can invalidate Section 21 notices
The Court of Appeal found that if a landlord failed to give their tenant the gas safety certificate before the tenant first moved into the property, any later Section 21 notice would be invalid. Importantly, the Court also ruled that this applies even to tenancies that began before the 2015 regulations came into effect, which introduced these requirements.
This decision, combined with the new Renters Rights Act 2025, could have serious consequences for landlords who rushed to serve Section 21 notices before 1 May 2026, as they may now discover that these notices are invalid. If they failed to provide the tenant with the required gas safety certificate before the tenancy began, any retrospective service on their tenants will not be sufficient. Given Section 21 notices are now no longer available, this leaves them with Section 8 notices as the only other viable option.
What landlords and letting agents should do now
Landlords and agents who believe they served valid Section 21 notices before the deadline should urgently check their records. They should make sure they have proof that the tenant received the correct gas safety documents before moving into the property. If records are missing or incomplete, the notice may be invalid and the Section 21 route may no longer be an option.
If you are unsure about your position or would like your documents reviewed, the Dispute Resolution team at Downs Solicitors can help.
Contact Lily Niblett
