Changes in Section 8/21 Eviction Notices in England & Wales

Posted by the Dispute Resolution team on 4th August 2021

Whilst it was reported in the media that there was a ‘ban’ on evictions when the pandemic took hold last March, in terms of Residential Housing Possession, what actually took place was a change in expiry periods when serving a Notice. This didn’t stop a Landlord from serving a Notice, but it did mean that the time period for pursuing any Court action after serving the Notice would take significantly longer than pre-pandemic. The Government has maintained its stance on this, albeit with the Notice period gradually becoming shorter. The most recent change took place on the 1^st June 2021, and the table below for England only shows the current notice period required, and the amendments that have been released for further changes in August 2021, when the expiry period is amended again – and this is specifically focused on rent arrears.

As you can see, from the 1^st August 2021, the notice period decreases further for any landlords experiencing difficulties where Tenants have and are continuing to fail to pay rent. This means that any Notices previously served under a more lengthy period, if they have not expired, or have a significant time period left to expire, could now be withdrawn, and a new notice re-issued in line with the revised expiry periods. In any event, the 12-month validity for a Section 8 Notice remains from the date the Notice was issued.

The alternative to serving a Section 8 Notice, is to use a Section 21 Notice – or Form 6A as they are now entitled. The Notice itself and the expiry period for this notice also changed during the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the Notice would be valid for 6 months, however would take 2 months to expire on the Tenant, leaving the Landlord with 4 months to issue court proceedings if the Tenant had not vacated. However, this expiry period was extended during 26^th March 2020 – 28^th August 2020 to 3 months. During the period from 29^th August 2020 until 31^st May 2021, a Section 21 notice/Form 6A was valid for 10 months but took 4 months to expire on the Tenant once served, leaving the Landlord with 6 months to issue Court proceedings before the Notice becomes invalid and the Landlord needs to serve a new notice.

From the 1^st June 2021, Legislation was released to reduce this period again to 8 months in that the Notice took 4 months (instead of 6) to expire, and then the Landlord had a further 4 months to issue proceedings if the Tenant had not vacated the property.

Wales also has a different notice period, and currently, for any Section 21 Notices, the Notice period was extended again, from the 30^th June 2021, is now in place until the 30^th September 2021, under the Coronavirus Act 2020 (Residential Tenancies: Extension of Period of Protection from Eviction) ( No. 2) (Wales) Regulations 2021.

There has also been a further change in the expiry periods under Section 8 Notices for Wales, and these have been listed below. These dates are currently in force until the 30^th September 2021 for Wales and are likely to be reviewed further closer to their expiry time.

Please do not hesitate to contact our property team by calling 01903 229999 or by emailing info@bennett-griffin.co.uk should you have any queries regarding the above, or should you require us to serve the relevant Notices for you in respect of your properties.

Disclaimer: Please note that this update is not intended to be exhaustive or be a substitute for legal advice. The application of the law in this area will often depend upon the specific facts and you are advised to seek specific advice on any given scenario.