Can my landlord evict me for complaining about repairs?

What changed in England on 1 May 2026

Before 1 May 2026 most private tenants had assured shorthold tenancies, and a landlord could use Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to seek possession without proving the tenant had done anything wrong. That created an obvious problem for anyone living with disrepair: complaining carried a risk that had nothing to do with whether the complaint was justified.

On 1 May 2026 most existing assured shorthold tenancies moved into the new assured-tenancy system, and landlords in the reformed private rented sector can no longer serve new Section 21 notices. A landlord who wants possession must now identify and establish a statutory ground.

Why that is not the same as immunity

A repair complaint does not stop a landlord using a genuine ground that exists for some other reason. The grounds available in England include a genuine intention to sell, a genuine intention for the landlord or a qualifying family member to live in the property, serious rent arrears, other rent arrears, persistent late payment, certain breaches of the tenancy, and serious antisocial behaviour.

Some grounds are mandatory: if the landlord establishes the ground and meets the legal requirements, the court must make the order. Others are discretionary, and the court also has to decide whether possession is reasonable. So the question is never simply whether a notice arrived after you complained. It is which ground is being relied on, and whether the landlord can actually establish it.

If your landlord says they are selling

There is a ground for a genuine intention to sell. It carries conditions: broadly, a twelve-month protected period at the start of a new tenancy, and four months’ notice. The notice cannot be used to cut the protected period short. A real intention to sell can be a lawful reason for possession — but “I am selling” is not a label that can simply be attached to a decision made for another reason.

If your landlord says they are moving back in

There is also a ground where the landlord, or certain qualifying family members, genuinely intends to occupy the property. It has its own conditions. The existence of the ground does not entitle a landlord to invent an intention they do not have.

What if my landlord invents a possession ground?

Under section 16J of the Housing Act 1988, a landlord commits an offence where two things happen. First, the landlord knowingly or recklessly relies on a possession ground they are not entitled to rely on. Second, because that ground was relied on, the tenant surrenders the tenancy within four months, without a possession order having been made.

That second condition is the one most explanations leave out, and it decides whether the offence is relevant to you at all.

• The landlord must have knowingly or recklessly relied on a ground they were not entitled to use.
• You must have surrendered the tenancy.
• That surrender must have happened within four months beginning with the date the ground was relied on.
• No possession order must have been made.

So if you left because of a possession ground you now believe was invented or unlawfully used, section 16J may be relevant, and the offence can support an application for a Rent Repayment Order where the requirements are established. If you stayed in the property and challenged the ground instead, this particular offence does not apply on that basis — though other legal issues may still arise.

An unsuccessful possession claim does not by itself prove an offence. The statutory conditions and the landlord’s state of knowledge still have to be established.

The sequence worth recording

• You report serious disrepair.
• The landlord refuses or delays.
• You escalate the complaint.
• The landlord threatens to remove you.
• A possession ground is relied on.
• You leave because of it.
• Information later emerges suggesting the landlord was never entitled to rely on that ground.

Timing alone proves nothing. But a chronology that lines up like that is evidence, and it is far easier to keep as you go than to reconstruct afterwards.

Rent arrears are the real risk in a repair dispute

Section 21 has gone, but the arrears grounds have not. This is where repair disputes most often turn into possession cases, usually because a tenant decided to stop paying in order to force the repairs.

For tenants in the reformed assured-tenancy system, the serious-arrears ground can apply where the required level of arrears exists both when the notice is served and at the possession hearing. For monthly rent that is generally at least three months’ rent; for weekly or fortnightly rent, at least thirteen weeks’. The notice period is four weeks. There are also discretionary grounds for other arrears and for persistent late payment.

What happened to old Section 21 notices

There were transitional arrangements for notices served before the new system started. A landlord relying on an eligible pre-1 May 2026 Section 21 notice generally had to begin possession proceedings by 31 July 2026. A case properly started in time can continue through the courts after that date.

An old notice that was never validly acted on cannot now be revived as the basis of a fresh Section 21 claim. If you already have proceedings underway from the old system, do not assume the abolition automatically ended your case — get advice about those particular proceedings.

Can my landlord just change the locks?

Generally, no. There is a real difference between serving a possession notice, obtaining a possession order, and physically evicting someone. A landlord normally has to go through all three. “Get out by Friday or I’ll change the locks” is not a lawful eviction; it is a threat.

Illegal eviction and landlord harassment can be criminal offences. Conduct intended to force a tenant out can include threatening to change the locks, cutting off services, withholding keys, threats or violence, repeated intimidation, and deliberately refusing repairs as part of an attempt to make someone leave.

If you rent from a council or housing association in England

The Section 21 change should not be read as though every social housing tenancy changed on 1 May 2026. Council and housing-association tenants have different tenancy structures and different possession rules, and were never exposed to Section 21 in the same way.

• Whether you have a secure, assured or other tenancy.
• The possession ground being relied on.
• What your tenancy agreement says.
• Your landlord’s complaints process.
• The Housing Ombudsman route, where it applies.
• The landlord’s repair and housing-condition obligations.

If a possession notice arrives from a council or housing association, get advice specific to your tenancy type rather than relying on material written for private tenants. Our pages on council housing and housing association repairs cover the escalation routes.

Wales: the statutory chain that protects you

Wales has a separate system under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. Tenants are generally contract-holders and agreements are occupation contracts. The no-fault route still exists — but it runs through four provisions that have to be read together, and the last one is the protection.

Section 173 — the notice

The landlord gives the contract-holder a notice under section 173, subject to the restrictions that apply to such notices.

Section 178 — the possession claim

Section 178 provides that where the landlord has given a section 173 notice, the landlord may on that ground make a possession claim. This is the link most explanations skip, and it matters: section 217 bites on the claim, not on the notice.

Section 215 — why possession would ordinarily follow

Where the section 178 ground is established, section 215 ordinarily requires the court to make a possession order, subject to the statutory qualifications. That is what makes the next provision significant rather than decorative.

Section 217 — the retaliatory-possession exception

Section 217 is headed “Retaliatory possession claims to avoid obligations to repair etc.” It applies where the contract-holder has enforced or relied on the landlord’s obligations under section 91 (fitness for human habitation) or section 92 (keeping the dwelling in repair), and the court is satisfied that the landlord made the possession claim to avoid complying with those obligations. The court may then refuse to make the order.