Why serve a Section 21 notice just after a tenancy agreement has started?

Hi Andy

The simple answer is that once it's done it's done.

Make sure the AST is signed, the tenant is in the property (has the keys), the deposit has been protected and the deposit protection certificate and prescribed information has been served first though.

My understanding is that serving a Section 21 notice early into the tenancy is considered to be good practice by many landlords for the following reasons.

Let's suppose you grant a six month AST and your tenant turns out to be a nightmare or you need to recover possession quickly for another reason at the end of the fixed term. If you haven't already served a section 21 notice then you need to wait until the day before the next rent due date to serve and then wait another two months before you can apply for a Court order to gain possession.

If you had already served a s.21 notice you could apply to the Courts for possession the day after the six month period had expired in necessary, although it's good generally considered good practice to wait a further 14 days by many landlords.
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Personally I don't like the practice of serving the S21 too early and I really dislike seeing it served when the AST is signed - as many letting agents and some landlords do.
S21 is a legal Notice and should be served as such, by including it in the documents as the start of a tenant a tenant may not realise that a legal Notice has in fact been served on him and this is simply unfair and not is the spirit of the law.

I serve S21 Notices on all my tenants 3 months before the end of the fixed term. I send it with a letter explaining that this is a legal Notice and I am serving it to ensure that I have vacant possession when the tenancy ends so that I am certain that I have legal Possession for my next tenant. I tell them that I did this for them too so that there would be no delay in them being able to move in. I also explain that I will not enforce the Notice unless they decide to end the tenancy or if they do not meet the terms of the contract and I need them to move out. It is always my intention to keep my tenants long term so long as the tenancy is working well for both of us and I tell them this too.

As Mark has said serving at least two months before the end of the fixed term means that there is no delay in removing a bad tenant who may not have done enough to warrant a S8 but has not been a good tenant for some reason. Most landlords are like me that want tenants to stay long term but only if they are good tenants.

The other issue that this solves in Abandonment. Where the tenant just walks away and does not surrender the tenancy having a S21 in place give landlords the right to assume that the tenant has left in response to that legal Notice and allows the landlord access.

If a new AST is put in place the landlord needs to also serve a new S21 but if the tenancy rolls into a statutory periodic the S21 has no shelf life and will run along side the tenancy indefinitely

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Thank you both for educating me on this matter.

Hi Andy

I was like you a few years ago. I'm glad you like property118. Without all the useful information I have got from here over the years,I'd be lost if the truth be told. I'm still learning, it never ends. Good luck with everything. 🙂

Reply to the comment left by "Mary Latham" at "31/07/2013 - 20:21":

My understanding is that a s.21 served at the beginning of the tenancy, or even 3 months before the end, does have a shelf life because the notice to end a Statutory Periodic Tenancy is different to that for a fixed term. Although like Mary I never liked the notice being served at the start of the tenancy, many landlords have told me it works well for them, though many of their tenancies last far longer than the 6 months period. I think if this acts as a prompt to the landlord to explain fully that this is in place and is a legal document which enables the landlord to go for possession as soon as the tenancy ends, it can act as a marker for the tenant, a reminder that he has responsibilities with penalties for failure to observe them. It can also be made clear that this would not be acted upon if they are both happy for the tenancy to continue.

Hi Andy I posted this question a few weeks ago.
There were a lot of replies.

Go into search (top right and see what comes up)

Reply to the comment left by "Sharon Betton" at "02/08/2013 - 10:58":

There are two types of S21 and this depends on when the Notice is served - either within a fixed term or during a SPT - this has nothing to do with the lifespan of the Notice just the date that Possession is requested and a Notice served during the fixed term is easier so long as the Possession date is after the end of the fixed term or first 6 months whichever is the longer. Whenever it is served S21 has not shelf life unless a new AST is signed.

I have seen S21s fail when they were served when the AST is signed because the tenant has said that he was given the S21 before he signed the AST and you cannot end a contract which has not begun.

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Could anyone then explain me please how does S21 effects differently in the case of a the Statutory Periodic Tenancy, (SPT) as opposed to AST

And if the S21 Notice has a shelf life, assuming it was given soon after the AST expired and it was not renewed and the Tenancy went into SPT.

Thanks in adavnce.

Reply to the comment left by "Mary Latham" at "02/08/2013 - 21:28":

If you think about it Mary, perhaps his could be used as an argument against a SPT being a new tenancy?
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Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "05/08/2013 - 10:00":

That is a damn good point Mark.
If you may only issue a S21 b during a fixed term period; but don't and then issue a S21 a the day after the end of a fixed term AST; that is still enforceable; the same as a S21 B issued during the fixed term AST which lasts for life providing nothing changes except rent if S13 process is used!!
Personally I'm not changing anything.
I will protect and allow to proceed onto a SPT.
I'd like to see any tenant get any money out of me!!!
It would never happen as I'm technically bankrupt and always will be!!