Now that we have had time to digest the White Paper that was released by the Government, lets look at the major changes that will soon be introduced:
The End of the Section 21 Notice
A long-trusted tool for a landlord will soon be ending. This will mean that assured and assured shorthold tenancies will disappear and all tenancies, or at least all tenancies under the Housing Act 1988, will be periodic from the start.
Tenants will be able to give two months’ notice which is a change from the current position which is a one month notice as per the current common law position.
And the key change is landlords will only be able to give notice if they have grounds for possession, be it by breaching the terms of the agreement, the landlord selling the property or the landlord wishing to move back in.
As part of the s.21 ending so will the prescribed documents that restrict the service of the notice such as the selective licenses, gas safety certificates, epc, how to rent guide, these will not have any affect on possession.
New Grounds for Possession
So with the s.21 ending what now for Landlords? Section 8 will be amended and this will be the route for eviction for landlords, new grounds will be introduced.
The new grounds for possession that will be coming in are:
- Landlords who wish to sell their property although we are still waiting for further details for what evidence will be required in order to take advantage of this.
- If tenants have been in rent arrears of at least two months three times within the last 3 years, even if they are not in arrears at the time of the court hearing.
- Landlords who wish to move back into the property themselves, which would mean Ground 1 would need some type of amendment.
The current regime will stay in place until the publication of a Bill. If you require advice and are wish to instruct our Landlord & Tenant team please call 02039093399.
