Possession Claims & Notice Periods

Daniel Winslow – Partner & Head of Leasehold Services at Healys LLP

Last year, the country experienced significant disruption caused by the pandemic. That was felt particularly hard by many private renters in the residential sector, who suddenly found themselves unable to pay the rent under their assured shorthold tenancies. In response to that the government moved quickly to release a raft of temporary legislation aimed at protecting tenants from eviction and preventing what would have inevitably resulted in mass homelessness during the hardest time many have experienced during their lifetime.

The new regulations led to considerable changes to the usual procedures that enabled landlords to take back possession of their properties. Many of these changes remain in force, however some are due to expire in the coming months. So what are the rules and when will they change as we approach the end of lockdown?

Before the pandemic, landlords were generally able to obtain possession of their properties by serving one of two notices. The first was a notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, which enabled them to give their tenant 2 months’ notice (often referred to as a no fault notice to quit) to leave, following which the landlord could then issue possession proceedings and if necessary instruct a bailiff to evict the tenant if they refused to leave.

The second notice was under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, which unlike the section 21 route requires valid grounds to terminate the tenancy. Those grounds are numerous, however, by far the most heavily used ground is (perhaps unsurprisingly) rent arrears. Generally, provided the tenant was at least 2 months in arears, the landlord could give the tenant 14 days’ notice to leave, failing which possession proceedings could be issued. Following that a bailiff could then be instructed to evict the tenant if necessary.

One might therefore see how the existing mechanisms could have led to mass homelessness. Whilst I accept there are tangible arguments that could be made against the fairness of the legislation on landlords, the government no doubt considered the changes to be the lesser of two evils and on balance, I would agree with that assessment.

So what are the present notice periods? Currently, the notice period for serving a section 21 notice is 6 months. This also applies to the majority of section 8 notices. However, exceptions do apply and so you will need a professional to review your specific circumstances and advise you on your position. For example, notices served on the basis of rent arrears is reduced from 6 months to 4 weeks where the arrears is 6 months or more. The rules remain in place until 1st June 2021 and so tenants and landlords affected by the recent legislation, should be reviewing their position as there is likely to be a flurry of activity once the law resets. 

In addition to the changes made to notices and notice periods, the government also introduced a ban on enforcing possession orders. This currently remains in force until 31st May 2021. Again, there are exceptions and so you will need to seek professional advice on your specific circumstances.

If you require further information regarding possession claims and notice periods, please don’t hesitate to contact Healys LLP’s Property Litigation team.