The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government have issued a press release detailing the future of possession notices with the current regulations due to expire on 31 May.
The release states that from 1st June 2021 the current 6-month notice period will end. All notice periods are due to be reduced to at least 4 months, as follows:
Section 21 Notice
From 01 June 2021 – 4 months’ notice required.
From 01 October 2021 – 2 months’ notice required.
The Government has also committed to releasing a White Paper detailing plans to abolish the section s21 notice in the autumn of this year. We will be releasing a blog detailing the update from the Queen’s speech imminently.
Section 8 Notices
From 01 June:
- Excess of 4 months’ accumulated rent arrears – 4 weeks’ notice
- Anti-social behaviour – no notice to 4 weeks’ notice
- Domestic abuse – 2 to 4 weeks’ notice
- False statement – 2 to 4 weeks’ notice
- Breach of immigration rules – 2 weeks’ notice
- Death of a tenant – 2 months’ notice
We await the full measures to be announced together with the accompanying legislation to be published. We can expect changes to the notices themselves to be published without notice over the May bank holiday weekend. Any subscribers to the PainSmith helpline who use the vault to get the notices are best advised to use the version directly from the government website at the time any new notice is required to ensure it is the correct and up to date version. You will need Form 6a for the section 21 or Form 3 for the Section 8 Notice.
Bailiff Evictions
Bailiffs will once again be able to undertake evictions from 31 May 2021. Two-weeks’ notice is required to be given to tenants before evictions can take place therefore the earliest evictions can take place will be mid-June.
Where the occupier is self-isolating or has Covid-19 symptoms the appointment will not be carried out.
Published 13 May 2021
