Changes to the Section 21 Notice

If a landlord wishes to bring an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) to an end, he must serve a notice on the tenant under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.

From 1st October 2015 new regulations require the landlord to fulfil a number of additional requirements to ensure that the notice is valid.

The requirements are:

• A prescribed form – Form 6A.
• The tenant must have been provided with a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate for the property.
• The tenant must have been provided with a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate for the property.
• The tenant must have been supplied with the booklet from the Department for Communities and Local Government entitled “How to Rent: the checklist for renting in England.”

The above requirements apply to all ASTs granted after 1st October 2015. They do not apply to ASTs granted before 1st October and which became periodic tenancies after this date. However the new requirements will apply to all ASTs from 1st October 2018 and there is nothing to stop landlords from using the new Form 6A on all ASTs from 1st October 2015.

Landlords will usually have given copies of the Energy Performance Certificate and Gas Safety Certificate to their tenants either at the start or during the tenancy. These new regulations therefore add a booklet (download a copy here) and a prescribed form to the list of requirements before a valid Section 21 Notice can be served.