Renters Reform Bill: Section 21 and Gas Safety Explained

Private renting is a popular way of getting suitable accommodation in the UK. Currently, there are 11 million private renters and some 2.3 million landlords. Over the years, the Government has been formulating various regulations to effectively govern matters related to the housing sector. Despite that, private renters often experience insecurity. On the other hand, the private rented sector has been providing tenants with flexibility and easy access to housing, without the compulsion to invest huge sums to own reasonable housing. 

However, it has been a matter of hot debate among lawmakers over creating a reasonable balance between landlords and tenants, given the opportunities and insecurities faced by tenants. The most criticized clause in this context is Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, commonly referred to as "No-Fault" eviction rights of landlords. As the term "no-fault" explains itself, a landlord can serve a notice of eviction without any fault on the part of the tenants. Hence, this clause has been widely criticized as being tilted towards the landlords, leaving the tenants feeling insecure, and was proposed to be abolished through the "Renters Reform Bill" 

In this blog, we will explain all the matters related to Private Renters and Landlords, and how the abolition of section 21 may affect them, and more importantly, how it will affect the gas safety of rented properties.

No-Fault Evictions – Understanding Section 21

Section 21 of the "Housing Act 1988" defines the process of regaining possession of the Assured Short-hold Tenancy (AST). It empowers landlords of ASTs to serve an eviction notice on their tenants without proving that the tenant was at fault or violated any terms of the tenancy. This right of landlords was often seen as an undue favor that left tenants insecure. As a result, the landlords were at liberty to end the tenancy, typically within two months after serving this notice. That's why it is commonly referred to as "No-Fault Eviction". 

In an attempt to make the eviction process more rational, the "Renters Reform Bill" was proposed in 2023, with Section 21 planned for abolition. However, it could not be transformed into a Law due to a change in the Government. The new Government replaced this bill with some amendments in 2024, under the title “Renter’s Rights Act”, with the main clause being the abolition of Section 21. This has also got the Royal Assent on the 27th of October 2025. It is expected to take effect in the first half of 2026.  

So, practically, the Renters Reform Bill does not exist anymore. Instead, the Renters' Rights Act has been passed by the Government and will be enforced in the next year. The highlight of this Act is the abolition of Section 21. The aim is to protect the tenancy rights and urge the landlords to adopt other ways, based on specific grounds, to regain possession, such as using their rights under Section 8. Section 8 allows the landlords to initiate the eviction process in the event of breach of the tenancy agreement by the tenants. 

Practical Implications of the Renters' Rights Act

• The tenants will feel secure as the eviction will then require solid grounds based on facts, and the landlord will have to prove that the tenancy agreement has been breached by the tenant. 
• The landlords will lose their right to enforce eviction just as per their decision; instead, they will have to adopt a lengthy legal course under Section 8, where they will have to prove that the tenant has breached the tenancy agreement. By adopting this course of action, they will have to wait for a longer period, and more importantly, it may involve a higher cost; even then, the possession claim will remain uncertain. Practically, the process of eviction will become extremely difficult for landlords. 

Renters’ Rights Act and Gas Safety in Private Rented Properties

Generally, the gas safety of the private rented homes is governed by the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. These regulations require the landlords to ensure the gas safety of their rented properties as follows:

• All the gas appliances, including boilers, flues, and allied pipework, must be kept gas safe at all times. 
• They are responsible for conducting an annual gas safety inspection on all the gas appliances installed in their rented properties and obtaining a gas safety certificate. 
• They are legally bound to provide a copy of a gas safety certificate to their existing tenants within 28 days of inspection, whereas the new tenants must be provided with a copy of this certificate at the start of the tenancy. 
• The landlords are required to keep the record of the annual gas safety inspection for at least two years. 
• If, during the annual gas safety inspection, any of the gas appliances are labelled unsafe, the landlords are responsible for their repair or replacement, as the case may be.
• The landlords are not allowed to shift any of their responsibilities to their tenants.

Gas Safety and Section 21 – Legal Position

Currently, the provisions of Section 21 are closely related to the Gas Safety responsibilities of the landlords, until the time the Renters' Rights Act is enforced. Under the Gas Safety Regulations of 1998, landlords are required to provide a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate to their tenants. On the other hand, if a landlord intends to serve an eviction notice under Section 21 but has not provided a copy of a gas safety certificate to the tenant, the notice under Section 21 will be considered invalid. 

That makes it highly important for the landlords to invariably provide the tenants with a copy of the current gas safety certificate; otherwise, their right to force eviction under section 21 will stand invalidated. 

Impact of the Renters' Rights Act on Gas Safety 

The main idea behind the Renters' Rights Act and the former Renters Reform Bill is to strengthen and secure the tenancy rights of tenants. Under this changed scenario, matters such as physical and living conditions of the property and safety responsibilities will become even more critically important for the landlords. So, they must now ensure that the property is maintained in a perfect habitable condition, while maintaining it as gas safe as well. Additionally, after the abolition of Section 21, landlords will have to rely on Section 8 for regaining possession of their rented properties. In this context, they are required to ensure compliance with the safety regulations so that their position stands strong in case of any tenancy dispute or eviction-related matters. 

Renters’ Reform Bill and Renters’ Rights Act – Same or Different?

The Renters Reform Bill was just a proposal, which was tabled in 2023. However, it never took the form of a Law due to a change in the Government. In September 2024, the new Government came up with a new proposal. After due deliberations, it was formally put before the Parliament and eventually got Royal Assent on 27th of October 2025. It is expected to be formally enforced in the early or by the mid of the year 2026. 

So, despite being almost identical on the basis of their content, both are quite different from each other. The Renters Reform Bill was never approved, hence it could not be transformed into a Law. On the other hand, the Renters' Rights Act was formally approved and took the shape of a Law after getting the Royal Assent. 

Main Features of the Renters' Rights Act

1. Assured Periodic Tenancies will replace Short-hold Tenancies (ATS).
2. Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, commonly known as "No-Fault Eviction", will be abolished, leaving the landlords with only one option for claiming eviction under Section 8.
3. The grounds for regaining possession under Section 8 will be expanded and strengthened, enabling the landlords to enforce eviction for their valid reasons, such as personal use or selling the property.
4. Side by side, the rights of tenants will also be strengthened by limiting landlords' rent increase demands to once a year, giving tenants more freedom to end tenancy with notice, and giving tenants the right to keep pets in rented properties. 

Conclusion

The Renters Reform Bill, which was proposed in 2023, could not be converted into law due to a change in the Government. Hence, this bill does not exist anymore. However, the new Government submitted a proposal in September 2024 and it received Royal Assent on 27th October 2025. Accordingly, it is now ready for implementation under the title “Renters’ Rights Act”.

The main clause of this Act is the abolishment of Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. Under this section, the landlords were allowed to serve an eviction notice without having to prove that the tenant had violated any of the terms of the tenancy. With the abolishment of this section, the tenancy of the tenants will be strengthened and secured, whereas the landlords will now have to rely more on Section 8 if they want to regain possession of their rented properties.