All tenants in the UK must be given some form of notice if they want to end their tenancy.
The length of that notice depends on their tenancy and why they are being asked to leave.
Here we take a look at some of the most common scenarios.
What kind of tenant do you have?
Assured shorthold tenancy
If you have tenants in a buy-to-let property you do not live in, they will most likely have signed an assured shorthold tenancy (AST).
If that tenancy agreement has a fixed term and your tenants are still within it, you can’t ask them to leave unless they have broken it.
Fixed terms are usually one year with a six-month break clause, which either side can activate if they give the correct notice.
Assured shorthold tenancies can also be periodic, which means they are weekly or monthly rolling contracts.
If they don’t sign a new one, your tenants will move on to one of these when their fixed-term contract has finished. In both cases, you must give them two months written notice to leave.
Lodgers
If you live with a lodger, they’re known as excluded occupiers. If they have a fixed-term contract, they do not have to leave until it is finished.
But once it has, or if the agreement is periodic, the notice period you need to give is the same length as the rental period.
So, if they pay weekly, you need to give them a week’s notice, and if they pay monthly, one month’s notice is required.
Using a Section 21 notice
In practice, most landlords and tenants end tenancies amicably simply by sending an end-of-tenancy letter giving the agreed notice period.
However, section 21 eviction notice is the legally recognised way to start the eviction process of a tenant who has not broken any clauses in the tenancy agreement. This is known as a no-fault eviction.
To make sure a section 21 notice isn’t invalid, and respects tenants rights, a landlord must do several things before serving one, including:
- Give two months’ notice
- Fill in form 6A
- Ensure the tenant’s deposit was in a deposit protection scheme within 30 days of signing the AST
- Pay the deposit back in full if the previous point hasn’t been met
- Give tenants a current gas safety certificate, energy performance certificate, and the government’s how-to-rent guide.
The notice is also invalid if you’ve been given an improvement notice or emergency works notice for the property by the council.
Or if you own a house of multiple occupations but do not have a license for it.
Tenants do not have to leave after the notice period, but you can continue the eviction process through the court system.
Using a Section 8 notice
A landlord can issue a section 8 eviction notice during a tenancy if the tenant doesn’t pay their rent or breaks any other agreement terms.
You can also use one if you have other legal obligations to meet, such as your buy-to-let home is being repossessed.
Timeframes and grounds for eviction
You must use the correct form and include all the details of the tenant’s name, address, why you’re asking them to leave, and the notice period.
This varies from two weeks to two months, depending on the grounds for the eviction.
There are 17 grounds landlords can refer to. The most common is number eight, which covers a tenant in rent arrears for at least two months.
Landlords only need to give two weeks’ notice if this is the case. If the home is being possessed for a legal reason that isn’t the tenant’s fault, they will usually be granted two months’ notice.
Moving the eviction process on
In either situation, a tenant does not have to leave the property when the notice period has finished.
This obviously causes a problem for landlords looking to house new tenants or sell the property.
However, having correctly served a Section 21 or Section 8 notice allows you to proceed to the next step in the process.
If you have served a section 21 notice, you can apply to the court for an accelerated possession order.
This is faster than a standard possession order. A judge will either order the tenant to leave or a court hearing if they believe the tenant has a case to stay.
In section 8 notice cases, only standard possession orders can be used.
If there are incorrect details in your possession order or the tenant offers a way to pay their rent arrears, the judge may make a suspended possession order and allow them to stay.
If the judge orders the tenant to leave but they still don’t, you can apply for a warrant of possession. If this is granted, bailiffs will evict them. However, getting to this point in the process can take many months.
Across the UK
Notice periods differ in each part of the UK. Those described here apply to England and are broadly the same in Wales.
However, in Scotland, tenancies that began after December 1st, 2017, are known as private residential tenancies and come with different notice periods.
If a tenant has been in the property for less than six months or has lived there longer but has broken the tenancy agreement, you must give them 28 days’ notice.
In all other cases, when the tenant is not at fault, the notice period is 84 days. And you cannot ask them to leave before their fixed term ends.
In Northern Ireland, the notice period depends on how long a tenant has been in a property. Tenants of five years or less must be given at least four weeks’ notice.
Eight weeks’ notice is required for tenancies of between five and ten years. 12 weeks’ notice must be given for those longer than ten years.
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