By the Beacon Living Group team · 5 July 2026 · 7 min read + decision tool
Summary: with section 21 abolished, Manchester landlords have three realistic paths. Stay on ASTs with immaculate compliance and accept slower possession. Restructure to a corporate lease with an operator like Beacon Living Group, so the AST regime no longer applies to you. Or sell. This guide, and the decision tool below, help you work out which fits your situation. It is general information, not legal advice.
Section 21 was never really about eviction for most landlords. It was about the exit being certain: whatever happened, you could get your property back with two months' notice. That certainty underpinned every other decision, from accepting a marginal tenant to holding the property another five years. Now the certainty is gone, every landlord in Manchester is quietly re-running the same calculation. Here is a structured way to run it.
Possession now runs on statutory grounds. Serious rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, breach of tenancy, the landlord selling, and the landlord or close family moving in are the ones most owners will encounter. Each carries its own notice period and evidence bar, several cannot be used in a tenancy's first year, and contested cases go through the courts. The practical effect: regaining possession is now a project with a timeline, not a formality with a form. Landlords with complete compliance files will manage; landlords with paperwork gaps will find those gaps have become expensive. For the exact ground number, notice period and mandatory or discretionary status for your situation, see our full grounds for possession guide. If you have already lived through a difficult tenancy, our guide on renting again after a nightmare tenant sets out exactly what risk moves to an operator like Beacon Living Group, and what honestly does not.
Answer honestly; there is no wrong exit. Each path ends with what we would genuinely say to a friend in that position.
Path one: stay on ASTs, professionally. The AST market still works; it simply no longer forgives sloppiness. That means current gas, electrical and energy certificates on every property, deposits protected and prescribed information served, rent increases documented against comparables, and a genuine reserve fund for a slow possession if one ever comes. If you enjoy the involvement and your tenants are settled, this path remains perfectly viable.
Path two: restructure to a corporate lease. Lease the property to an operating company instead of an individual. Beacon Living Group signs a three to five year corporate lease at a fixed monthly rent, runs the property as serviced accommodation under short guest licences, and hands it back at the end of the term under the contract. Our standard corporate lease is structured so that, because your tenant is a company, the AST regime, and everything in this article about grounds and courts, does not apply to your arrangement. The trade is a sustainable fixed figure instead of a theoretical peak. Our Renters' Rights Act guide covers the wider legislation this sidesteps.
Path three: sell. Sometimes right, especially for accidental landlords with better uses for the equity. But selling costs time and fees, may crystallise capital gains tax, and permanently ends the income. Before choosing it out of frustration rather than strategy, price up what a fixed corporate-lease income would pay across the years you would otherwise hold — our guaranteed rent vs selling guide has a calculator for that — and take proper advice on the tax position. Frustration is a bad estate agent.
Yes, on statutory grounds such as serious arrears, antisocial behaviour, selling, or moving in yourself, each with its own notice and evidence requirements. No-reason evictions have ended.
Stay on ASTs with immaculate compliance, restructure to a corporate lease so the AST regime no longer applies, or sell. The right answer depends on how involved you want to be and how long you plan to hold.
A corporate lease is not an AST, so possession at the end of the term is contractual rather than a statutory grounds process. Your tenant is the company; guests stay under short licences.
Sometimes. But compare what a corporate lease would pay over your intended holding period first, and take tax advice. Restructuring often beats exiting for landlords who still want the income.
It requires valid grounds, correct notice and possibly court time. The process rewards complete compliance files and punishes gaps. Budget for that risk on the AST path.
About Beacon Living Group. Beacon Living Group is a Manchester guaranteed rent and serviced accommodation operator. It leases properties from landlords across Manchester on 3- to 5-year corporate leases, pays a fixed monthly rent with no fees, and is built to manage every stay in-house. Beacon Living Group Ltd is registered in England and Wales, company no. 17076795.
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