New Form of prescribed Section 21 Notice

The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1646) (Regulations) were laid before Parliament on 9 September 2015. They will come into force on 1 October 2015.

The Regulations prescribe the form of notice to be given ending an assured shorthold tenancy under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (section 21 notice).

They also provide that the landlord cannot serve a section 21 notice unless it has complied with its obligations to provide to the tenant:

• An energy performance certificate.
• A copy of a gas safety certificate.
• The Department for Communities and Local Government’s booklet, “How to rent: the checklist for renting in England”.The changes apply in England.The new rules will apply to ASTs granted on or after 1 October 2015.They will not apply to a fixed term AST granted prior to 1 October 2015 even if, after the relevant date, the fixed term AST becomes a statutory periodic tenancy.However, from 1 October 2018, the rules will apply to any AST (except for the requirement for the landlord to provide prescribed information about the rights and responsibilities of the landlord and tenant under the AST) (section 41, DA 2015).Prescribed Form

The Regulations set out the prescribed form of section 21 notice (Form No. 6A). They add this new form to the forms set out in the Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/620).

Form 6A states that a section 21 notice cannot be used where:

• The tenant has resided in the property for less than four months.
• The landlord is prevented from retaliatory eviction under section 33 of the DA 2015.
• The landlord has not complied with the requirements under the Regulations (see Legal Requirements).
• The landlord has not protected the tenant’s deposit under a Tenancy Deposit Scheme (see Practice note, Tenancy Deposit Schemes ( www.practicallaw.com/9-238-2955) ).
• The property requires a licence but is unlicensed.

Form 6A states that:

• It must be used for all ASTs created on or after 1 October 2015, except for periodic tenancies that come into being after 1 October 2015 and which were fixed term ASTs created before 1 October 2015.