New notice periods came into force for landlords on Saturday 29 August 2020, extending the Coronavirus Act 2020 through to 31 March 2021. For landlords seeking possession using a Section 21 notice or for situations like rent arrears under 6 months, landlords will now need to give tenants a 6 months’ notice period. This change has not been applied retrospect which essentially means that a Section 21 notice served prior to 29 August 2020 can still be 3 months, but if served on or after 29 August 2020 the 6 months notice requirement applies.
Landlords typically use a Section 21 notice for possession either at the end of the fixed term, when exercising a contractual break clause or to bring a rolling month to month tenancy to an end. These changes do not alter the notice period a tenant must give a landlord. We understand that the Government has confirmed some exceptions to this 6 month notice requirement including:1, anti-social behaviour (now 4 weeks’ notice)
2, domestic abuse (now 2 to 4 weeks’ notice)
3, false statement (now 2 to 4 weeks’ notice)
4, over 6 months’ accumulated rent arrears (now 4 weeks’ notice)
5, breach of immigration rules ‘Right to Rent’ (now 3 months’ notice)
If you are an AB landlord or tenant and would like to discuss these changes and how they may affect you please contact our Lettings departments. This blog is meant as a brief summary of the latest Government announcements which are subject to change outside AB control. AB Blogs should be read in conjunction with the Governments own guidance which can be read here and you should seek independent advice.
