A question on section 21 documents needed?

A question on section 21 documents needed?

9:31 AM, 6th February 2024, About 11 months ago 23

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Hello, I have issued a section 21 notice to my long term tenants recently, their latest rental agreement was dated back in 2010 on a rolling basis. I got advice from NRLA that I don’t need to comply with the current legal requirements – I should just put a note on my application that the tenancy agreement is prior Oct 2015 when submitting documents to court.

My tenants have told me they have had advice from the council’s housing department that I need to reissue a section 21 notice and supply it with the Gas Safe certificate, the deposit certificate, the EPC certificate and How to Rent guide.

They can’t be rehoused by the council because of the lack of supporting documents.

I’m a bit confused on whose advice to follow. I wonder if anyone else has experience on this. I don’t want my application to get rejected by the court and then have to start again.

I do have most of the required documents apart from the How to Rent guide, which was not there when their tenancy agreement was signed, the deposit certificate was dated a year earlier with their original tenancy agreement, it was on a rolling basis when the tenancy agreement was renewed. The EPC certificate was in date when the tenancy agreement was signed, but it had expired when section 21 was issued.

I read somewhere that there is no legal requirement to renew the EPC certificate if the same tenants stayed in the property.

Thank you.


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Helen

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13:43 PM, 6th February 2024, About 11 months ago

I would use an eviction service such as Legal for Landlords. I have used them 3 times now and they are excellent. It might cost a bit more than doing it by yourself but you will have the peace of mind knowing that you are putting forward all the correct documents. They are very supportive through the whole process and usually answer queries the same day.

A fedup landlord

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17:06 PM, 6th February 2024, About 11 months ago

Thanks all for your valuable advice, I have renewed my EPC now, all other documents are in date, my question would be if I need to reissue another section 21 notice, as my new EPC was done two months after my section 21notice. I can email the tenants how to rent guide now, but it will be after the section 21 I have already issued, will it be a problem? I have already waited for 2 and half months to go to court, I will have to wait for another 2 months, if I have to reissue the section 21 notice. Tenants said council won't help them as they haven't received all information needed.

DPT

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17:18 PM, 6th February 2024, About 11 months ago

There are two separate issues here:
1. Do you need to serve the tenant with the so-called prescribed documents, (GSC, EPC, How to Rent etc). The answer is yes under gas safety legislation, EPC regulations, etc.
2. Do you need to have served these documents on the tenant in order to then serve a valid s21 notice. The answer is that if your current tenancy began before October 2015, then no, it is not a requirement of the s21 regulations.

It would be worth correcting the Council and noting on your possession hearing application that your tenancy pre-dates the Deregulation Act requirements.

GlanACC

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18:50 PM, 6th February 2024, About 11 months ago

A landlord I sold one of my properties to (who is now selling up but thats another story) had to go to court as a tenant had challenged the S8 he had issued. Tenants are offered 'a legal adviser' who can represent them in the case. One of the questions that came up 'was the landlord registered with the ICO' and did the tenant receive a copy of the GDPR (printed or by a link) before they moved in. Luckily he was registered and he had sent her a link by a text message before she moved in. Now, I would have though this was NOT a requirement for an S8 hearing (or an S21) but it is just possible the judge may have interpreted non registration with the ICO as a reason to reject the claim.

The moral here is that even if you own only 1 property you should be registered with the ICO. Pretty much every landlord body (Homelet, NLRA etc) say you must be registered even if you use a letting agent - so be aware of this

Jason

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White Collar

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8:37 AM, 7th February 2024, About 11 months ago

The requirement of EPC, Gas Safety Certificate and How to Rent all come from The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015.

They apply for any AST granted on or after 1st October 2015.

They DO NOT apply to a statutory periodic tenancy which came into being on or after 1st October 2015 and which commenced after the end of an AST granted before 1st October 2015.

Feel free to contact me if you require any further guidance.

PH

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9:12 AM, 7th February 2024, About 11 months ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 06/02/2024 - 18:50
I didn't know about the ICO , I use an agent to manage mine and I guess there are many who haven't heard of this. I'm wondering if by registering now I'll be wasting my money if the details have to be given to the tennant BEFORE they move in. Unfortunate timing as a new tenant moved in 1 month ago.

GlanACC

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9:21 AM, 7th February 2024, About 11 months ago

Reply to the comment left by PH at 07/02/2024 - 09:12
This taken from a landlord website

Privacy protection laws in the UK under the Data Protection Act apply to commercial and residential landlords.

Landlords should issue all prospective tenants a privacy notice before granting a tenancy agreement; it is a legal requirement. The privacy notice should set out the landlord’s privacy policy.

Registering costs £35 a year

It is not a requirement for an S21 or and S8 BUT an awkward judge could possible reject a claim if it came to court (remember judges make up the rules as they go along, and just because one judge rules one way it doesn't set a precident, so another judge may rule the opposite way).

PH

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10:00 AM, 7th February 2024, About 11 months ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 07/02/2024 - 09:21
Thanks for the information. I'll check the AST in case there is something I've missed but I don't recollect anything written into it regarding this matter.

Landlord Solicitor @ RSPLegal.com

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10:33 AM, 10th February 2024, About 10 months ago

EPC, Gas Certs and How to Rent all irrelevant for a pre 2015 Deregulation Act tenancy.

However the deposit must still have been registered on time i.e. within 30 days of payment and you must be able to demonstrate that the deposit prescribed information has been served pre service of the S21 Notice (the 30 day requirement for prescribed information does not apply for S21 purposes).

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