Section 21 and Section 8 Notice periods to revert to pre-Covid time periods from 1 October 2021

Good news for landlords – notice periods are set to revert to pre-Covid timescales very soon. The Coronavirus Act 2020 (Residential Tenancies and Notices) (Amendment and Suspension) (England) Regulations 2021 were made yesterday, coming into force on 1 October 2021.

Notice periods will revert to pre-Covid time periods from 1 October 2021. This means that the notice period for Section 21 notices will revert to 2 months and the notice period for Section 8 notices relying on Grounds 8, 10 and 11 will revert to 2 weeks. Section 21 notice cannot be served within the first four months of the initial tenancy or to expire prior to the end of the fixed term.

The Government is also publishing new Forms 3 (for Section 8) and 6A (for Section 21) and these will also come into force from 1 October 2021. As always, landlords/agents should be careful to use the correct form of notice that is in force at the date the notice is served. As they are prescribed forms, the court will generally not accept notices served on the wrong version of the form.

If you are considering Section 21 notice now, it will be quicker for you to wait until 1 October 2021 rather than serve notice during September as the notice period is currently 4 months. If you have any queries about the changes to notices, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to assist you.