Major changes to section 21
Big changes have been made this autumn, with the implementation of the Deregulation Act from the 1st of October. While it may be called deregulation, it actually involves plenty of new regulations, particularly for landlords and letting agents. These rules only apply in England, but if you’re based in Wales, you might want to check out Rent Smart to see the new rules that do apply to you.
You can no longer serve a section 21 at the beginning of a tenancy
For tenancies that commence on or after 1st October 2015, you will not be permitted to issue a section 21 notice during the first four months of the tenancy.
This is to stop landlords or letting agents issuing a section 21 notice at the start of the tenancy ‘just in case’ they want to evict in the future, but don’t want to rely on the restrictions that come with a section 8 notice.
In the case of replacement tenancies (new tenancy with same parties and same premises as previous tenancy), the relevant period is four months from the day on which the original tenancy began.
Use it or lose it
Section 21 notices will only be valid for 6 months, to prevent landlords serving notices that they have no intention of enforcing. This should help clarify the situation for tenants, as they will no longer be receiving section 21 notices when they’re not actually being asked to leave – a quite confusing situation to be in!
Getting the dates right
The main reason that section 21 notices fail in the courts, is a mistake with calculating the date that the tenancy should end on. However, this will no longer be the case. Provided a full two months’ notice is given, then unless another unconnected error is made, the Section 21 Notice will be valid. This is sure to give landlords a sigh of relief!
Protection from revenge evictions
If a landlord is in breach of their legal obligations to a tenant, a section 21 will not be valid. This includes obligations regarding the condition of the property, the health and safety of the occupants and failure to provide an Energy Performance Certificate or a valid gas certificate for the property. If an improvement notice is served, the landlord will not be able to issue a section 21 notice, and any notice that has already been issued will become invalid.
This legislation applies to all tenancies that start after the 1st October 2015. In three years’ time it will become applicable to all tenancies, including those that began before this October.
