Deregulation question

[Brickie]

Hi all newbie here.

I have a question on Section 21 notices following the deregulation outcome.

In the article here under 'serving notices' http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/t...ff-superstrike

it says.... Serving Notices

Included in the Deregulation Act are changes which affect the section 21 notice. From 6 April 2015 the section 21 notice will be just one 2 month notice for fixed term and periodic tenancies, in prescribed form, and will no longer need to end on the last day of a tenancy period as was previously the case with the periodic notice.

Please can someone clarify which S21 to use now ?

AND what does ' in prescribed form ' mean ?

Thank you very much.

[mariner]

This is exercising the grey matter of many, even Tessa Shepperson of LL Law.

AIUI as from 6 April 2015 you can serve a basic 21, similar to s21b, which automatically expires after 2 months, so no 'expiry date' is required, unlike s21a for periodic T, but it cannot be used if there was no initial fixed term or for a Contractual Periodic Tenancy, just SPT.
One drawback for LL is that since the basic s21 expires after 60 days, poss mid-way during a T period, and T vacates mid-period, LL may have to refund pro-rata rent for unused time or disputes may arise; which appears to go against the principle that full rent for period is payable in full on due date. The other wrinkle awaiting enabling legislation later this year, is that no valid s21 can be served without valid GSC & EPC in place.
Prescribed format normally means precise wording or content, but the Govt doesn't appear to have provided one, too busy making election promises.

[jjlandlord]

There is no grey matter exercise here...

There is no chane to section 21 at this time.
A prescribed form may be created but it hasn't yet, so this mention of 6 April 2015 is incorrect.

There is no automatic expiry after 2 months, and certainly not after only 60 days.

The right to refund will be efective from October, and is very badly written. Certainly it is not an automatic refund.

[jpkeates]

Because of a change due to case law, a landlord's s21 notice issued while the tenancy is an SPT doesn't need to end on the last date of a tenancy period.

This change is also included in the Deregulation Act, but is one of the sections that requires a further event in parliament to make it active.
There is no set date for this further event to happen, but the best current guess seems to be October.
For a start, we need to have a functioning Parliament for that to happen.

[Brickie]

Thank you
So for an AST that has turned into a SPT and a tenant more than 2 months in debt a S 21 (4) (a) without needing to end on a last day of a rent period ?

Do you recommend a Section 8 as well ? if so what grounds ?

Sorry for so many Q's its the first time I have had to do this in 20 odd years of letting.

[Snorkerz]

It would do no harm to serve a s8 as it has a shorter notice period, even if you later decide to wait for the s21.

The form for an s8 in England has changed, the grounds, forms and relevant updated legislation are here: http://www.tenancy.22web.org/HA1988%20Section%208.html