New Section 21 Notice for 2015

The Government have produced a new Section 21 Notice.

We have updated the version of our free Section 21 Notice available to download using our free property management software accordingly.

There are also some new rules and regulations surrounding Section 21 Notices which will come into force on 1st October 2015.

Expert landlord lawyer, Rebecca Brough, partner at Fidler Pepper has provided us with the essential details relating to the new legislation contained in the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Pescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015.

What documents are required to serve the Section 21 Notice?

In order to be able to serve the new prescribed Section 21 Notice, a landlord must have the following in place and have given them to their tenant:

• A Deposit Protection Certificate (if deposit taken) showing protected within 30 days of receipt of deposit
• Prescribed Information showing served within 30 days of receipt of deposit
• Gas Safety Certificate
• Energy Performance Certificate
• “How to Rent: the checklist for renting in England” – (this new document must be given to all new tenancies commencing after 1.10.15)

When can you serve the new Section 21 Notice?

The following restrictions apply to the new Section 21 Notice. If you have any specific questions on the serving of the new Section 21 Notice please post them to our landlord legal forum.

Fixed Term Tenancy (or a fixed term tenancy that has now become periodic)

• Not in the first 4 months of the fixed term
• The section 21 notice can’t expire any sooner than the fixed period
• A landlord must give 2 months notice, plus a couple of extra days for posting
• It is only valid for 6 months from date the section 21 notice was given

Contractual Periodic tenancy

• A landlord can serve the new section 21 notice at any time (although the Court wont order possession in the first 6 months of a tenancy)
• A landlord must give 2 months notice, plus a couple of extra days for posting
• The notice does not have to end on the last day of a period of the tenancy,
• The section 21 notice is only valid for 4 months from date it was given

(Please note the above only applies to a periodic tenancies that are weekly or monthly, any tenancies that are quarterly, half yearly or annually require a longer notice period, up to a maximum of 6 months)

What are the other restrictions on serving a new Section 21 Notice?

The new regulations contained within the deregulation act 2015 have added in additional restrictions for landlords who are looking to serve a Section 21 Notice on their tenants.

A landlord cannot not now serve a Section 21 Notice if:

• The tenant has made a written complaint to the landlord about the condition of the property (before the Notice has been served)
• The landlord has not provided an adequate written explanation within 14 days – presumably this will be to include an inspection and schedule of repairs
• The Local Authority has served an Improvement Notice or Emergency Remedial Notice
• If an Improvement Notice has been served you cannot serve a section 21 notice for 6 months.

If it is proved that the condition of the property is the fault of the tenant then the landlord can serve a Section 21 Notice, however I would imagine that this will need to be agreed by an independent person, such as a surveyor.

For any additional queries regarding the new regulations either post a question to the landlord legal forum
or email Rebecca at propertyhawk@fidler.co.uk