Protect your rights as a landlord using Section 21 Notice

Why should I bother with section 21 notice?

If you are a landlord having a tenant on your property through an assured shorthold tenancy agreement, then the Housing Act 1988 provides you with a legal right to get posession of your property the tenancy period ends. A notice served under Section 21 of Housing Act - 1988 is the correct way to invoke this right. However, to invoke a section 21 notice, you are required to make a signed Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement with your tenant. All tenancy agreements issued or renewed after 6th April, 2007 must also protect the tenancy deposit using any one of the many approved tenancy deposit schemes. The tenant should also have been notified about this deposit. If you have a house with multiple occupations (HMO) then you are mandated to have a licence for it before you can take advantage of section 21 notice.

As a landlord you can serve a Section 21 Notice at any point of time during the tenancy. Effectively, you can have the tenant sign the Section 21 Notice at the very start of the tenancy which ensures your right of possession automatically after the fixed period tenancy term gets over. This is only required if you want to get rid of your tenant otherwise simply ignore such a Section 21 Notice. However, after the tenancy ends, you should create a new fixed term or period tenancy agreement. In the absence of a new tenancy agreement if you let the tenancy go on, it will become a statutory periodic tenancy.

Their are two types of Section 21 Notices. The first type is a Fixed Term Notice. Also known as s 21 (1) (b), this type of notice can be served at any point of time during the term of a fixed period tenancy. The second type of Section 21 Notice is also known as the S.21 (4) (a) and is applicable to periodic tenancies.

What is the duration of the notice and when should I serve it?

As a landlord you are required to provide a minimum notice of 2 months with an allowance of 3 days for the receipt of the notice by post. Remember that a calendar month in tenancy agreements as per Law of Property Act 1925 s61 (a) runs from a given date of one month to the date before it in the next month. In case of joint landlords the section 21 notice can be served by any one from amongst them. Also notable is a fact that you cannot take posession during the first six months of the original tenancy through a section 21 notice.

For a tenancy of fixed period, you cannot serve a section 21 notice earlier than the expiry date of the fixed term agreement and must include the mandated 2 months of notice period. For a periodic tenancy or a statutory periodic tenancy a section 21 notice must specify its posession date as the last day of the rental period at least two months after its being served.

Section 21 notice guarantees possession only.

A Section 21 notice is a notice for reclaiming possession of the property only. Recovery of rent arrears and damages owned by a tenant will require separate legal actions. A section 21 notice only entitles you of the possession.

A witness or proof of serving section 21 notice is also required.

A Section 21 Notice can be served by post or in person. Serving a Section 21 Notice by mail is a legally accepted way. If posting, you have to allow 3 working days for delivery and use either recorded delivery or proof of postage as evidence of serving the notice. The best method of serving a section 21 notice is in person, directly by hand with a witness who is required to complete a witness form confirming the serving. Legally, the burden of proving that the Section 21 Notice was served falls upon the landlord.