Island Life Magazine Ltd April/May 2015 | Page 115
ISLAND LIFE MAGAZINE
Roach Pittis advice
By Christopher Prew
Roach Pittis Solicitors,
60 - 66 Lugley Street, Newport, PO30 5EU
01983 524431
[email protected]
Relief for landlords
A
t the end of shorthold tenancy
a landlord must serve a notice
requiring possession if he wishes to
regain possession of residential property.
The notice is commonly known as a
Section 21 Notice. If the tenancy is a fixed
term and it is still within its term the notice
must be given pursuant to Section 21(1)
(b). However, if the tenancy has rolled over
into a statutory periodic tenancy, then
the notice that is required must be given
pursuant to Section 21(4)(a).
The former notice simply requires not
less than two months’ notice to be given.
The end date does not have to coincide
with the end of the term. Nor does it need
to have an end date which is also the end
of the period of tenancy. It is difficult to
get it wrong using this form of notice.
Where the fixed term has ended the
notice must be given under Section
21(4)(a) and these notices have caused
difficulty for landlords who consistently
get it wrong. The notice must be for not
less than two months and the date for
giving possession must coincide with the
end of the tenancy. It is not always easy to
identify a period of a tenancy.
The Court of Appeal in the recent case
of Spencer v Taylor determined that a
notice under Section 21(1)(b) may also
be used for a periodic tenancy provided
The decision of the
Court of Appeal has
made the procedure
more straight forward
for Landlords.
the tenancy was originally for a fixed
term tenancy. This decision means that
a standard Section 21(1)(b) Notice can
now be served at any time as long as
there has, at any stage, been a fixed
term tenancy. The Section 21(4)(a)
Notice need now only be used in cases
where there has been a fixed term and
the tenancy has been periodic from the
start. The decision of the Court of Appeal
has made the procedure more straight
forward for Landlords. Section 21(1)(b)
Notices simply have to give two months’
notice in writing and there is no need to
worry about the period of the tenancy
or about what date the Notice needs to
expire on as long as it is more than two
months from the date it was served.
If you are worried or concerned
about serving notice or commencing
possession proceedings please do not
hesitate to contact our litigation team.
www.visitilife.com
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