Tenancy Commenced Prior to 2015?

Previously we reported on the pending changes to the HMO Legislation that is affecting the Private Rented Sector that comes into effect from 1st October.

Another change that seems to have ‘slipped’ under the radar of many landlords is the Section 21 changes coming in from 1st October 2018.

Should you have a tenancy that commenced prior to October 2015 you were not required to serve certain documents to the tenant. In order to obtain possession of your rental property, you could issue a Section 21 Notice in order to bring the tenancy to an end.

The key date of October 2015 is where the ‘Deregulation Act 2015’ came into effect – One of over 150 pieces of legislation that apply to when a property is rented out in England & Wales. From this date Landlords & Lettings Agents were required to provide the following documents to tenants prior to or no later than the tenancy commencing:

• A copy of the Valid EPC Certificate
• A copy of the Landlords Gas Safety Certificate at the time
• The latest version of the How to Rent Guide

It is important to remember that as a Landlord you need to document how these documents were provided to the tenant so that if required you would be able to prove the tenant actually received a copy of the above documents. – It is time to act now before the 1st October if you had a tenancy that commenced after October 2015 and you did not provide these documents to your tenant.

In addition to the documents, the Government replaced the Section 21 Notice with a Prescribed ‘Form 6a’ should you wish to bring a tenancy to an end and also brought in protection for tenants in form of ‘Retaliatory Evictions’

What if I didn’t serve these documents? – Your Form 6A will be invalid. Act now to retrospectively serve the documents required under the ‘Deregulation Act 2015’.

So what about tenancy’s that commenced prior to October 2015?

From 1st October 2018 landlords will now be required to use the Prescribed ‘Form 6a’ and also ensure that they comply with ‘Retaliatory Evictions’.

If you are unsure on how these changes will affect your rental properties or would like further guidance, please drop me a line at luke.stclair@knightsbridge-estates.co.uk or call 07917 899495.