This is a question to the blog clinic from Ol,iver who is a landlord in England.
My tenant refused to leave at the expiry of the tenancy, though I reminded her the tenancy only had 2 months left to run, and I didn’t intend to renew as the property would be needed
She did not at the time indicate or confirm her intention not to vacate, but subsequently refused to move, and in court (with the CAB on her side), the notice I gav,e reminding her was deemed not enough/appropriate
My question then is … Is a landlord required to issue a S21 notice to a tenant at the end of a 12-month tenancy, and if so, then what is the point of the AST if the tenant can simply refuse to move after the 12 month period?
Answer
Although a tenancy is normally granted for a period of time, and will ‘end’ at the end of this period, the tenant is legally entitled to remain.
The reason for this is that section 5 of the Housing Act 1988 provides that a new ‘periodic’ tenancy will arise if the tenant is still in occupation of the property after the fixed term has ended. This has been the situation for many years.
Property owners should familiarise themselves with landlord and tenant law rules before renting out their property if they wish to avoid unwelcome surprises.
Tenants are entitled to rely on the new periodic tenancy to remain in occupation, and they are not legally obliged to let landlords know whether they intend to stay or leave (although it would be polite of them to do so).
At the moment, you can evict this tenant using the no-fault section 21 procedure. However, this is due to be abolished when the Renters Rights Bill becomes law (believed to be later this year).
After the Renters Rights Bill has become law
After that, you will be able to evict the tenant if you want the property back to live in yourself or for your family or if you want to sell it.
Otherwise, you will only be able to evict under specific circumstances – such as the tenant being in arrears of rent of more than three months’ worth.
If you intend to use section 21 during the limited period of time it is still available, it is important that you get the notice right and comply with the various ‘prerequisites’ without which your notice will be invalid.
For example, you must have dealt with any deposit money correctly, obtained an HMO or selective license if your property is subject to licensing and served gas safety certificates and EPCs on your tenants at the correct time.
In view of the limited time available to use section 21 and the danger of inadvertent mistakes in the paperwork, we are recommending that all landlords use solicitors.
Find out more about eviction in this free guide.
The post Do You Need to Serve a Section 21 Notice at the End of a Fixed-Term Tenancy? appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.