As a result of Covid-19, the Government introduced legislation extending the notice periods required by Landlords to give to tenants prior to obtaining possession of the property. However, from 1
st October 2021 landlords who have not been able to take action against their tenants for things such as rent arrears will be able to serve Notices based upon the pre-covid legislation. The following changes will now apply in England for shorthold tenancy agreements:
- The Section 21 Notice will revert to being 2 months.
- Rent arrears can be pursued as a money judgement alongside seeking possession and in particular if relying upon one of grounds 8, 10 and 11 the 2 weeks’ Notice will be reintroduced.
- Section 8 Notice – if grounds 3, 4, 7b, 12, 13, 14A, 15 or 17 are used the notice period will go back to two weeks.
- Section 8 Notice – ground 7a used for anti-social behaviour with a conviction will revert to one calendar month.
- Section 8 Notice – using ground 14, the discretionary ground for anti-social behaviour, a landlord can immediately serve a notice period of 24 hours.
New versions of Section 8 (Form 3) and Section 21 (Form 6a) have also been introduced and it is important to ensure landlords are using the correct version when serving notices.
Should you require advice concerning the serving of Notices to obtain possession of your property, please contact Kally Singh at Hegarty Solicitors on 01733 395 642 or email kally.singh@hegarty.co.uk