?With so many changes over the last 18 months, landlords could be forgiven for getting confused about how much notice they have to give to their tenants if they would like to gain possession of their property.
Notice periods
In England, landlords usually have to give 2 months’ notice to service a no-fault Section 21 notice. However, because of coronavirus (COVID-19), the notice periods have changed depending on when the landlord served or is planned to serve the notice.
Between 26 March 2020 and 28 August 2020
Landlords must have given tenants 3 months to leave the property
Between 29 August 2020 and 31 May 2021
Landlords must have given tenants 6 months to leave the property
This means that between these dates, with the exception of the most serious cases, landlords needed to give their tenants 6 months’ notice before starting possession proceedings. These serious cases include those in relation to anti-social behaviour, certain cases of domestic abuse in the social sector, false statement, where a tenant has accrued rent arrears to the value of over 6 months’ rent, where a tenant has passed away and where a tenant doesn’t have the right to rent under immigration legislation.
From 1 June 2021 - 31 July 2021
Notice periods must be at least 4 months in most cases (the above exemption using Section 8 apply), including where the tenant has less than 4 months’ rent arrears.
From 1 August 2021
The notice period for cases where there are less than 4 months of unpaid rent, will further reduce to 2 months’ notice – back to pre-pandemic timeframes. Notice periods for the most serious cases, as set out above, are lower with most requiring 2 or 4 weeks’ notice. The notice period for ‘serious arrears’ is 4 weeks’ notice and the threshold for what constitutes ‘serious arrears’ is ‘arrears equivalent to 4 or more months’ rent.
If your tenant does not leave at the end of the notice period
If your tenant does not leave at the end of the notice period, you must apply to the court for a possession order. If the court grants a possession order and the tenant still fails to leave, you must apply for a warrant for possession - this means bailiffs can evict your tenant from the property.
If you have a problem tenant and would like to discuss your options for serving notice and/or eviction, please contact Caridon Landlord Solutions on 020 3728 9937