New form Section 21 Notice issued as Tenant Fees Act becomes law
Published on 21st May 2019
To coincide with the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (TFA) coming into force on 1 June 2019, as highlighted in our previous article, the government has introduced Regulations to replace the form of notice that residential landlords serve on their tenants under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 ("Section 21 Notice"), to recover possession of their property once the fixed term of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) has ended.
The existing form 6A (Section 21 Notice) should not be used after 1 June 2019. From 1 June 2019, landlords seeking to end an AST will need to use the new form 6A, which clarifies that there is a restriction on terminating a tenancy under Section 21 Housing Act 1988 if the landlord has received a prohibited payment under the TFA.
Prior to serving a Section 21 Notice, residential landlords should ensure that there are no breaches of the TFA, as any failure to comply may invalidate the notice and prevent an order for possession being granted.
We explored the effects of serving a Section 21 Notice and the government's proposals to repeal Section 21, in our recent article. However, until new legislation is introduced, Section 21 Notices are required to be served using the new form 6A from 1 June.
This article was written with the assistance of Adam Collins, trainee solicitor at Osborne Clarke LLP.
