Starting 1st of October 2018, all Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs), regardless of their start date, will need to comply with guidelines as to when and how a landlord can serve a Section 21 Notice, which enables them to terminate a tenancy agreement.
When issuing a Section 21 Notice of Possession, landlords and agents will now be required to use Form 6A.
The form, prescribed by government, combines the two previous types of Notices1 into a single Notice for both periodic and fixed-term tenancies. Therefore, landlords and agents should stop using their existing Notices from Monday.
In addition, under the Deregulation Act 2015, landlords – and letting agents – wishing to issue their tenants with a Section 21 Notice should ensure they have shared the ‘How to rent: the checklist for renting in England’ guide with tenants; make sure the property has an up to date Gas Safety Certificate and the tenants have seen it.
Landlords must also publish the property’s Energy Performance Certificate (except when the property isn’t required to have one); inform tenants which scheme their deposit is protected in; where the property is licensed, provide a copy of the licence to all of the tenants.
