On 30 April 2026, the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in Muca v El Amrani [2026] EWCA Civ 515 (30 April 2026), a landmark ruling on Section 21 Notices and gas safety compliance.
The judgment, delivered just one day before the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force, resolves uncertainty and confirms that the failure to provide a gas safety certificate before a tenancy first occupies is a fatal to the validity of a Section 21 Notice.
Implications on landlords
• The requirement to provide the pre-occupation gas safety record is absolute and later compliance does not fix the breach.
• Where a tenant remains in continuous occupation they are treated as an existing tenant and a landlord must look back to the very first occupation to ensure that the requirement was complied with.
• The rule applies even where occupation began before the Deregulation Act 2015.
Although Section 21 was abolished from 1 May 2026 for private landlords the case remains relevant for existing claims relying on -re-abolition Section 21 Notices.
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