New Rules For Section 21 Eviction Notices6th Mar 2019
Update: Landlords are now required to serve three months' notice on a tenant for a Section 21 no-fault eviction (previously, the rule was two months). Landlords must also now serve three months' notice for a Section 8 notice (regardless of the grounds for eviction).
New legislation came into force on March 26 2020. The Housing Act 1988 section 21(1) Form 6A has been changed. It should be used by landlords in England up to September 30 2020.
Evicting a tenant under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 used to be reasonably simple. But now things have changed.
The Section 21 form may be easier to complete than before but do not be lulled into a false sense of security – the due diligence is now a minefield.
Get it wrong and you risk being unable to evict your tenant until you get it right.
Get it seriously wrong (illegal eviction) and you risk a criminal conviction, fines, damages, court costs and a jail term.
Evicting Tenants? Get Expert Advice First
New Changes Under The Deregulation Act 2015
You would expect a law called the Deregulation Act to make life less stressful. Sadly it is having the opposite effect for landlords.
The Act has restricted landlords’ ability to serve Section 21 eviction notices. Initially the new rules applied only to tenancies granted in England (but not Wales) on or after October 1 2015.
Now they apply to all assured shorthold tenancies granted in England (but not Wales).
There are key factors you must get right when serving a Section 21 notice:
- you can’t evict anyone during the first four months of their tenancy (if it’s a replacement tenancy then the four months runs from the start of the original tenancy)
- you must have provided the tenant with an Energy Performance Certificate, Gas Safety Certificate and a copy of How To Rent: The Checklist for Renting in England
- you must have complied with Tenancy Deposit Protection legislation
- you can’t evict the tenant if the property needs a licence but does not have one
- you can’t carry out a retaliatory eviction.
We have left the point about retaliatory evictions until last because it is particularly complex…
Retaliatory Evictions: The Deregulation Act 2015
The Deregulation Act protects tenants from retaliatory eviction if they have complained (legitimately) about the condition of the property.
Fail to address a valid complaint properly and the local housing authority could serve notice on you under health and safety legislation.
That would invalidate any Section 21 notice. It would prevent you from evicting your tenant until you rectified the fault in the property, served notice again and carried out the eviction procedure correctly.
Other Changes Under The Deregulation Act 2015
Now some good news for landlords. Under a Section 21 notice you no longer have to specify the last day of the tenancy as the day on which it ends.
But that’s where the good news ends – because the Deregulation Act is very tenant-centric. Landlords are now discovering that:
- you can’t serve a Section 21 notice within the first four months of the tenancy
- any possession proceedings must be started within six months of the service of a Section 21 notice
- Section 21 notices must be served in a prescribed form
- the tenant may be entitled to a rent rebate if:
- they have paid in advance for any period where a Section 21 notice determines the tenancy
- and they have left the property.
Fixed vs Periodic Tenancies
You can’t use a Section 21 notice to end a fixed-term tenancy before its contractual expiry date. In this instance you must serve a Section 8 notice instead.
You can serve a Section 21 notice after the fixed term has expired. Find out more here about the difference between Section 21 and Section 8 notices.
But the law is different for periodic tenancies (ie, those which continue for successive periods until the tenant notifies the landlord that they want to end it).
There are the certain notice periods that the landlord must give if they wish to terminate a:
- weekly or monthly periodic tenancy – at least two months
- quarterly periodic tenancy – at least a quarter
- annual tenancy – at least six months.
And remember…under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, you cannot evict a tenant without first obtaining a court order.
Get Expert Legal Advice
Evicting tenants? Get expert legal advice on the correct procedures from Debt Recovery Manager Eric Holt, 01202 355695. View his profile here.
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This document is not intended to constitute and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice on any specific matter. No liability for the accuracy of the content of this document, or the consequences of relying on it, is assumed by the author. If you seek further information, please contact Managing Partner Neil Andrews at Coles Miller Solicitors LLP.
