Landlords are now finding they have even more hoops to jump through in order evict Tenants following the introduction of new Legislation which commenced on 1st October 2015.

The Legislation only affects the S.21 Notice (the “No Fault” Notice), and it affects all AST’s which commenced on or after 1st October 2015.  Existing tenancies which commenced before this date, or have lapsed into periodic tenancies where the commencement date was before 1st October 2015 are not affected by the Legislation.  However, the Legislation will affect every AST from 1st October 2018.  There are a number of changes in with the Legislation, and our main focus in this article is on the service of a valid S.21 Notice.

In order to serve a valid S.21 Notice, the Landlord must:-

1. Have complied with the existing TDS Legislation.

2. Provided the Tenant with a copy of “How to Rent: the Checklist for Renting in England”.

3. Provided the Tenant with an Energy Performance Certificate.

4. Provided the Tenant with a copy of a Gas Safety Certificate.

5. Provided the Tenant with the prescribed form of S.21 Notice (this is form 6A, a copy of which can be downloaded from www.gov.uk.

6. Where the property is in HMO, the Landlord must have an HMO Licence.

7. Only serve the Notice after the first four months of the tenancy.

8. Have dealt with any repair issues (see retaliatory eviction below).

If the Landlord fails to comply with any of the above, the S.21 Notice will be invalid and the Tenants can remain in the property until a proper Notice has been served.

The purpose of the Legislation is to protect Tenants, who are often ill-advised and unaware of their rights from being “booted out” without the proper procedure being adopted.  One other purpose of this Legislation is to prevent Landlords from evicting Tenants simply because they have notified the Landlord of repairs which need to be carried out at the property (retaliatory eviction).

In view of the fact that Stamp Duty Land Tax rates will be changing from April 2016, being a Landlord is fast becoming a bit of a minefield.

At Oglethorpe Sturton & Gillibrand, we keep up to date with all the changes in Legislation and are happy to advise in respect of any Landlord & Tenant matter.

Please contact us on 01524 846846 to discuss any concerns you may have with a member of our Conveyancing Team.