Prescribed form of Notice (Form 6A) under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988

This Section 21 Notice Seeking Possession (Form 6A) (England) is the form prescribed under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (for properties in England) for a Landlord to serve on an Assured Shorthold Tenant. It confirms that the Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) will come to an end on a date specified in the Notice. That date may be the last day of the fixed term or a later date.

The notice has been updated to reflect the extended notice period (of six months) provided for in the Coronavirus Act 2020 for notices served up to 31 March 2021.

For properties in Wales please see the Section 21 Notice (Wales).

This document is in PDF format and the up to date version of it can be found on the government website by clicking on this link to the relevant page: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/assured-tenancy-forms#form-6a .

Once you have opened the template form on the government website, you should save a copy to a location of your choice and then you can complete that copy.

Section 21 Notice (Form 6A) can be served on the Tenant by using our Covering Letter for Section 21 Notice (England). This letter can set out practical arrangements for vacating the Property.

Housing Law permits an Assured Shorthold Tenant to remain in occupation of the Property after the end of the fixed term of his Tenancy, unless the Landlord has served a valid Section 21 Notice (Form 6A). The Tenancy becomes a “periodic” AST.

Please note that the Section 21 Notice (Form 6A) is only suitable for ASTs. It cannot be used to terminate any other type of tenancy. Consider using a Section 8 Notice Seeking Possession or a Notice to Quit instead. These documents can be found in our “Terminating Tenancies” folder.

Serving a Section 21 Notice (Form 6A) is effectively the first step in the Accelerated Procedure for repossession of properties let on ASTs. If the court is satisfied that a valid Section 21 Notice (Form 6A) has been served, it will order the Tenant to vacate the Property.

The termination date specified must, in normal circumstances, be at least 2 months after the Notice is received by the Tenant. However, until 31 March 2021, the termination date must be at least 6 months after the notice is received. The earliest termination date is the end of the fixed term of the Tenancy. The termination date may fall at any time during the periodic tenancy.

Landlords need to have complied with certain legal obligations before they can serve a valid Section 21 Notice (Form 6A). See the Guidance on Section 8 and Section 21 Notices for further information.