Section 21 notice or New Form 6a/6A

Hi Mike,

From Paul Shamplina's article >> http://www.property118.com/landlords-get-switched-on-now-and-understand-your-new-obligations/81863/

Landlords can now only serve a section 21 notice after the first four months of the tenancy and not at the beginning, as many had previously done. The new section 21 notice , will make landlords’ and agents’ lives a lot easier, as it combines the old section 21 fixed-term and periodic notices into one simpler form. You do not have to give a specific end date, just at least 2 months’ notice in writing. We thought this was a good idea when we participated in the drafting.

The new notice is for use with any tenancy agreements granted after 1 October 2015. For any tenancies prior to the 1st October 2015, the old rules (and old notices) still apply.

However, in October 2018 all tenancies (regardless of the date they were granted) will be subject to the new rules. It’s possible we may also see a lot of landlords leaving their agreements to go periodic rather than renewing their tenancies because they are worried about the new rules. In addition, I think letting agents will start charging landlords monthly management fees, as they may not be able to charge for the tenancy renewal if it is not being renewed.

From David Carter of the Sheriffs Office
" Where can we find the new s8 and s21 notices?

Section 21 can be found here. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1646/pdfs/uksi_20151646_en.pdf

Section 8 (Form no. 3) can be found here. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/620/pdfs/uksi_20150620_en.pdf

However, we do not advise you to serve these Notices yourselves, especially the Section 8 Notice, as the majority of Section 8 Notices we see that have been completed by landlords are easily defeated at court.

Can you use the new prescribed s21 form for tenancies pre-October 2015?

Yes."

Hi Mike,

First of all, form 6A is indeed a section 21 notice. This is the new prescribed form for such notices.

As long as you did not agree a new tenancy with your tenant after the 1st October 2015 you can still use the notice you got from the NLA.
In fact, I would even suggest that you should use that form instead of the new form 6a as that form contains plenty of misleading information.

I read this on a law firm's website:
Section 21 Notice – new prescribed form
Form 6A is the new prescribed form of notice. It must be used for any new or replacement tenancy issued after 1 October 2015. It can be found here. You can also use the new form for tenancies pre-dating 1 October but, if you do, you must have complied with the new regulations (see below). If you have not complied with those, you will have to continue to use whatever old form of the notice you used previously.

I am on a periodic tenancy that has come about following the death of my landlord last March 2016 (and also the fixed term is now up too). The original AST pre-dates 1 October 2015 (our most recent renewed fixed term was from 30/5/2015-27/5/2016). The letting agent has issued a section 21 notice, but has done so using the form 6a (I understand they didn’t need to use this form – but have chosen to).

Per what the law firm put on their website, and as is written in black and white on the form itself, it says the form should not be used in certain circumstances, including where an EPC, gas safety certificate and the “How To Rent” checklist have not been provided. I don’t recall at the beginning of our original AST (dated 1 June 2013) if we got an EPC or a gas certificate, but I know for certain that we have never been provided with the “How To Rent” document.

Does this mean that our section 21 notice is invalid and they must re-issue the notice either in the old format or with the 6a but after the prescribed information has been provided?

There is also talk in some legal forums of a periodic tenancy counting as a new tenancy anyway, implying the requirement for the tenancy deposit prescribed info to have been re-issued at this time.

Also, there is ambiguity regarding the “end date” that should be on my notice. I have read up on Spencer v Taylor but it is still unclear to me whether in my case, the landlord’s agent was obliged to put the rental period end date as the end date of our notice period (our rental period ends 27th of month – our notice was posted on 27 Jan and we were given notice with end date “after” 31 March). The dates of our notice also make me wonder whether the minimum notice was served since to receive a minimum of two rental period months’ notice, it would need to have been “received” by us by the 27th of the month, not posted on 27th of the month. Do the Deregulation 2015 rules re end date only apply to tenancies created after 1 October 2015 and therefore should my end date be a rental period end date??

The government’s website (updatd 6 January 2017- https://www.gov.uk/evicting-tenants/section-21-and-section-8-notices), clearly states:
“When you must give more than 2 months’ notice
Fixed-term tenants can’t be evicted until their tenancy ends. If the fixed term has expired the notice must end on the last day of the rental period.
So you’ll need to give more than 2 months’ notice if the rental period was more than 2 months (for example, it was paid quarterly).”

I feel like there are a few options that could potentially allow me to notify the agent that my section 21 notice is invalid – thus giving me some more time in the property to try to find a house to buy (which I am in the process of trying to do).

I would really love to get definitive answers to my questions so I can be sure that I can invalidate the notice as served.. ie to be 100% sure of myself before I raise the issue(s). Otherwise I end up with less time to prepare for my departure in the case I cannot change the current situation.

Many thanks to anyone who can advise!