Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 lies at the very heart of modern tenancy law in England and Wales. A notice validly served under section 21 will force a court to grant a possession order without the landlord having to establish a “ground” for possession. Even better, as long as certain formalities are in place (i.e. a deposit is registered and prescribed information has been provided to a tenant) a landlord can rely on the ‘accelerated procedure’ to obtain a Possession Order which avoids the need for a hearing before the Court and ultimately save the landlord time and costs. However, the law is about to change as new rules get implemented.
It Is important to note that the new rules will mainly apply to new assured shorthold tenancies (AST) entered into on or after 1st October 2015. In the case of a statutory periodic tenancy arising on the expiry of a fixed-term tenancy which starts before 1st October 2015, landlords in that situation may be pleased to learn that the old section 21 regime will continue to apply to the periodic tenancy.
One of the aims of the new rules is to eradicate what are deemed retaliatory evictions. For example, landlords serving notice following complaints about the property from the tenant rather than dealing with any repairs or issues directly.
The new rules will stop a Landlord relying in such notice when:
• A tenant has made a written complaint to its landlord regarding the condition of the premises or common parts before notice is given; and
• the landlord has not responded, or its response is inadequate, or it then serves a section 21 notice.
Further, the new rules both clarify and amend timeframes in which section 21 procedure can be used as well as putting further obligations on the landlord as to what information they must give to a tenant at the start of an AST.