9th
Jul 2017
There are reports that many landlords are unknowingly issuing incorrect Section 21 notices, which leads to losing thousands of pounds in failed possession claims and loss of rental revenues from delays of getting back their properties.
A legal firm believes that landlords are confused by the new rules for Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreements from October 1st 2015; this also includes any renewals on and after that date.
Danielle Hughes of the legal firm said that the old Section 21 notices are are still applicable for those AST agreements up to September 30th 2015, but they must be fully supported by the landlords with proof that there is a current Assured Shorthold Tenancy. They must also show proof of the deposit is protected along and that the correct prescribed information has been given to tenants; any landlords who have houses in multiple occupation must provide licences if they are in the appropriate areas that require them.
The bad news is that the new Section 21 notices for AST agreements made from October 1st 2015 are not applicable to older ASTs until the end of 2018, and there are several new rules that landlords must comply with before they can serve the notices.
Danielle Hughes believes that landlords and agents are in danger of issuing the new Section 21 notices on old AST agreements, by doing this there is greater chance of their case being dismissed by the court.
Hughes said: “There are multiple reasons why it is beneficial to serve the old Section 21 forms on AST agreements made prior to October 1, 2015.
“Section 21 has until recent years been known as the non-fault notice, with the landlord required to provide only basic information for the older form to be valid, while tenants have limited grounds on which to dispute a possession claim.
“However, the new form sets out strict requirements with which the landlord must comply prior to serving the notice, including providing the tenant with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), a Gas Safety Certificate, and the government’s ‘How to Rent: The Checklist for Renting in England’ booklet.”
She also pointed out the new notices' validity period is far shorter than the previous older forms, which means they must be acted upon within the new time limit of four months, failure to do so will result in landlords having to go through the rigmarole of issuing a new one.
Hughes said: “A failure to adhere to any of these requirements renders a notice invalid, which could see the case being struck out of court, a minimum 12-week delay to the landlord, loss of the court fee of £355, and a possible order to pay the tenant’s legal costs."
The new notice now gives tenants the opportunity to have the possession claim dismissed. They can do this by claiming that the eviction was only served by the landlord after they had raised major concerns over urgent repairs, and was therefore issued in retaliation.
She said: “If a tenant has reported a repair that needs undertaking to the local authority and an improvement notice has been served, the landlord may be prevented from recovering possession of the property using Section 21 for over six months under the new regulations."
“Service of the new notice where it is not needed, therefore, puts the landlord at unnecessary risk of this defence being successfully raised by the tenant in court.”
She strongly recommends that all lettings agents and landlords should 'exploit' the crossover period to their best advantage by using the old Section 21 notice, if applicable, before the new regulations come crashing in.
Danielle finished by saying: “I would urge landlords and agents to seek advice and to carefully consider how they approach Section 21 Notices if their AST pre-dates October 2015."
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