Section 21 update – Spencer v Taylor
As reported by Nearly Legal concerning section 21 rules the tenant in Spencer v Taylor has been refused permission to appeal in the Supreme Court, because of the lack of an arguable point of law.
Therefore the Court of Appeal decision stands:
“Where an assured Shorthold tenancy has had a fixed term and a statutory periodic tenancy has arisen, there is no requirement to use a section 21 (4)(a) notice, or have a date of expiry at the end of a period of the tenancy. A section 21 (1)(b) notice with two clear months notice is adequate.”
To summarise:
If a tenancy has at some stage had a fixed term then a notice which complies with s21(1)(b) will be an acceptable means of termination either being served during a fixed or periodic part of the tenancy. A notice under s21(4)(a) is only for tenancies that were periodic from the outset and have always been so. Therefore for most tenancies the s21(4)(a) notice is now irrelevant as almost all of them have at some stage have included a fixed term.
However, “Where a tenancy was periodic from the start, or where the tenancy provides for an initial fixed term, then a periodic tenancy thereafter (a contractual periodic) a s.21(4)(a) notice will still be required.”
Further in depth notes on this by Nearly Legal can be seen here
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Member Since October 2013 - Comments: 1308 - Articles: 10
10:09 AM, 25th July 2014, About 12 years ago
How does this relate to weekly periodic occupancies?
I issue weekly licence agreements, but just in case these are ever challenged and a court decides that they are tenancies, what form of s21 Notice would be required?
Would the s21 Notice provided by Tessa Shepperson’s Landlord Law website suffice?
Member Since February 2011 - Comments: 3453 - Articles: 286
10:15 AM, 25th July 2014, About 12 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “Robert Mellors” at “25/07/2014 – 10:09“:
Hopefully Tessa can help us out 🙂
Member Since August 2013 - Comments: 883
10:19 AM, 25th July 2014, About 12 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “Robert Mellors” at “25/07/2014 – 10:09“:
Hi Robert,
If you grant periodic licences from day one and they are deemed to in fact be ASTs, then you will still have to use s.21(4)(a) notices.
You’ll ‘just’ to get the expiry date right: Ie. the last day of a weekly period at least 2 months after the date the notice is served.
Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 238 - Articles: 49
11:53 AM, 25th July 2014, About 12 years ago
I still have some questions about how this new interpretation of s21 will affect contractual periodic tenancies which is why I am not changing my s21 notice just yet. As a s21(4) notice will always be valid whereas a section 21(1) may not.
You can read the post here http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2014/07/25/spencer-v-taylor-is-now-section-21-law-but-what-does-that-mean/
So if you have used my notice during a periodic it will be valid but you will have to wait until after the next last day of a period of the tenancy after two months after service before you can issue proceedings.
Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 128
11:57 PM, 25th July 2014, About 12 years ago
We rented a flat to a foreign couple 2 years ago, they spoke no English so didn’t intimidate them with a complicated tenancy and instead just gave them a rent book (which they were grateful for). Which would we have to issue? They pay their rent weekly
Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 238 - Articles: 49
12:00 AM, 26th July 2014, About 12 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “Sally T” at “25/07/2014 – 23:57“:
This would probably need a section 21(4) type notice.