October Possession Update

As of 1st October 2021, The Coronavirus Act 2020 (Residential Tenancies and Notices) (Amendment and Suspension) (England) Regulations 2021 comes into force.

The key impact of this is that notice periods are returned to their pre-pandemic levels. This means that for assured shorthold tenancy agreements in England the following notice periods will now apply:

Notice Type	Previous Notice Period	Notice Period from 1 October 2021
Section 21 Notice	4 months	2 months
Section 8 using any of grounds: 1, 2, 5, 7, 9 or 16	4 weeks	2 months
Section 8 using the rent arrears grounds: 8, 10 and 11	a) 4 weeks where arrears are at least 4 months b) 4 months where arrears are less than 4 months	2 weeks
Section 8 using grounds: 3, 4, 6, 7B, 12, 13, 14A, 14ZA, 15 or 17	4 months	2 weeks
Section 8 using ground 7A	4 weeks (periodic tenancy) 1 month (fixed term tenancy)	4 weeks (periodic tenancy) 1 month (fixed term tenancy)
Section 8 using ground 14	None- proceedings may be commenced immediately after service of notice	None- proceedings may be commenced immediately after service of notice

Other changes include:

1. A new prescribed form of notice for section 8 (Form 3). Amendments include moving the notes onto a separate document on the GOV.UK website.
2. Reducing the level of rent arrears required for a landlord to rely on ground 8 from four months to two months. This allows landlord’s to once again rely on a mandatory ground for possession at an earlier stage. 
3. Reducing the validity period from 8 months to 6 months for S.21 notices. The validity period is the time during which possession proceedings must be commenced 
4. Extending the period in which the Government can use their emergency powers to impose longer notice periods until 25th March 2022. Longer notice periods could therefore be re-introduced should the Government deem it necessary.

How Pinney Talfourd can help

Pinney Talfourd are experts in commercial and residential property litigation and can advise you on changes to the law so you are given up to date advice.

Please do not hesitate to contact either Stephen Eccles on 01708 463202 or Oliver-James Topping on 01708 463227 should you wish to discuss anything further.

This article was written by Oliver-James Topping, Solicitor in our Residential Property Litigation Team. The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. Specific legal advice should be taken on each individual matter. This article is based on the law as of October 2021.