New regulations due 1st October – Update from readers questions

New regulations due 1st October – Update from readers questions

8:01 AM, 2nd October 2015, About 9 years ago 38

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The Department of Communities and Local Government’s (DCLG) new regulations are due to come into force on the 1st of October. They introduce new obligations on landlords to provide specific information to their tenants, and restrictions on the use of the section 21 notice no fault possession procedure if they fail to do so.dclg

The new regulations will only apply to new tenancies from 1st October 2015, and then to all tenancies from October 1st 2018.

Landlords will become responsible for giving tenants a booklet called “How to rent: the checklist for renting in England”.

This is available from the government website here >> https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent   (There is no hard copy available)

This booklet may/will be updated, but it does not look like you have to send a new one to tenants every time this happens. You will need proof it has been given which could be by hard copy or in an email attached as a PDF if you have confirmation of receipt.

There will be no need to send again when a tenancy falls into Statutory Periodic, but if a new term AST is signed then it will need to be re-issued.

Landlords must also give tenants a copy of the EPC certificate which is valid for 10 years and a copy of the Gas Safety certificate.

What about HMOs? It is not clear, but the consensus of industry opinion is that an EPC for the whole building will need to be supplied along with a Gas Safety certificate to tenants.

If any of the above are not given to tenants (at the start of a tenancy to avoid doubt) then the new rules prohibit the use of a section 21 notice to end a tenancy.

Landlords and Agencies are being advised to keep proof these documents were provided.

To see the NLAs response to these rules being rushed in click here

 

The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1646/pdfs/uksi_20151646_en.pdf

Explanatory Note

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1646/pdfs/uksiem_20151646_en.pdf


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Comments

Romain Garcin

22:16 PM, 3rd October 2015, About 9 years ago

Note that a s.21 notice served during a fixed term tenancy was never required to expire at the end of a period (of a subsequent periodic tenancy).

Edwin Cowper

23:13 PM, 3rd October 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Luke P" at "03/10/2015 - 21:51":

Please could you point out which section did that?

Thanks

Edwin Cowper

23:20 PM, 3rd October 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Romain Garcin" at "03/10/2015 - 22:16":

The periodic tenancy could NOT be terminated except at the end of a period. The S21 Notice must be given for NOT LESS than two months notice. The tenancy can't be terminated except by use of a S21 notice. And that S21 notice can only expire on the periodic date,

I've been told that has been changed by the 2015 Act but I've yet to see that.

I believe your view appears to be incorrect. Unfortunately (for tenants) people perhaps did not advise them correctly that the notice was ineffective.

Luke P

9:24 AM, 4th October 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Edwin Cowper" at "03/10/2015 - 23:20":

You could use a 'cover-all' phrase that allowed it to end on a different date to the last in a period (although still subject to a minimum two months) that many landlords have been using for some time.

As for your previous comment -Section 35 of the Deregulation Act, I believe.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/20/section/35/enacted

Romain Garcin

13:54 PM, 4th October 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Edwin Cowper" at "03/10/2015 - 23:20":

Edwin, with respect, you are incorrect.

I would suggest that you read section 21 in the Housing Act, and the abundant literature on the topic that is available online.

To sum up a last time:
- A s.21 notice does not terminate the tenancy, and there is no requirement as the date a court or bailiff might end it.
- A notice served during a fixed term was never requirement to expire on the last day of a period.
- Following a recent case law, in many cases a notice served during a periodic tenancy is not required to expire on the last day of a period either.

As said, the fact that the new requirements may prevent a notice from expiring on the last day of the initial 6 month fixed term tenancy is not that significant apart from perhaps tripping landlords up.

Edwin Cowper

20:05 PM, 5th October 2015, About 9 years ago

I should have used the words : the S21 Notice is required to obtain possession of the property. However the extract of the Section 21 below suggest that the summary is not completely correct.

The section 21 notice allows possession to be recovered by court action., although it is clear that a notice cannot be effective and expire earlier than the end of the fixed term and must be of two months length

I agree that the notice did not have to expire for a fixed term on the last day of the tenancy

Section 21 says in respect of periodic tenancies (which arise automatically when a fixed term assured tenancy expires)

that the landlord or, in the case of joint landlords, at least one of them has given to the tenant a notice [F4in writing] stating that, after a date specified in the notice, being the last day of a period of the tenancy and not earlier than two months after the date the notice was given, possession of the dwelling-house is required by virtue of this section;

It says the S21 notice MUST expire on the last day of a period of any periodic tenancy.

There has been some suggestion in this correspondence that is no longer the law. Perhaps someone could point to the relevant act and section please

Romain Garcin

20:43 PM, 5th October 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Edwin Cowper" at "05/10/2015 - 20:05":

The summary I gave is correct.

The original point you made is that if a section 21 notice is served during a fixed term tenancy and expires after the end of that tenancy then it must expire on the last day of a period of the periodic tenancy (which has replaced the fixed term tenancy).

This is not the case, and has never been the case. Such notice may expire on any day.

Notice served during a periodic tenancy used to be understood to require to expire on the last day of a period in all case.
However, as said and repeated, recent case law has removed that requirement for periodic tenancies which follow a fixed term tenancy, which is the vast majority of periodic tenancies.

Michael Barnes

20:32 PM, 12th October 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Edwin Cowper" at "05/10/2015 - 20:05":

The link provided by Luke P takes away the need for notice to expire at the end of a period IN ENGLAND. If you are soewhere else, then different law may apply.

The S21 law defines the notice periods in relation to the state of the tenancy at the time the notice is served, NOT at the time the notice expires.

I sugget that you go and do some reading and understanding.

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