On 1 June 2019 an amended form 6A will come into force.
On 7 May 2019 the Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England)(Amendment) Regulations 2019 were made. These Regulations amend Form 6A (Section 21 notice) largely due to the changes coming into force under the Tenants Fees Act also on 1 June.
At Page 1 of the form it now states (amongst other grounds) that the form should not be used:
(f) where the landlord is prevented under Section 17of the Tenant Fees Act 2019. (NB No section 21 notice may be given in relation to a tenancy where a landlord has breached section 1(1) or Schedule 2 of that Act so long as all or part of the prohibited payment or holding deposit has not been repaid to the relevant person or applied to the rent or deposit with the consent of the relevant person.)
This of course means that where landlords or their agents have charged tenants fees which are not permitted under Schedule 1 or 2 of the Tenants Fees Act, they will not be permitted in law to use Section 21.
A permitted payment under Schedule 1 includes amongst other things:
- Rent
- Tenancy Deposit – 5 weeks deposit where the annual rent is £50,000 or less and 6 weeks where it is above that figure.
- Holding Deposits – limited to 1 weeks rent
- Payment in the event of a default – the tenancy agreement must contain a provision permitting this charge and it can only be applied for the loss of a key or other security device or where rent is more than 14 days late. In order to recover the payment, the charge must be reasonably incurred and (for loss of keys) supported by some form of evidence, such as a receipt.
Our previous detailed post on permitted charges can be read here.
Schedule 2 of the Tenant Fees Act relates to the Holding Deposit and in what circumstances it should be returned or retained.
Comment
The new form needs to be used by landlords or their agents from 1 June 2019 for ASTs created on or after 1 October 2015. Statutory Periodic tenancies which arise as a result of tenancies which began before 1 October 2015 are not required to use this form however, it would be advisable to use the form for all ASTs.
PainSmith helpline subscribers can find the new form 6A on our website. It is also available free of charge here.
Published 14 May 2019
