What Happens After Section 21 Abolition? A Practical Guide for Landlords and Tenants - Ep. 19

What Happens After Section 21 Abolition? A Practical Guide for Landlords and Tenants - Ep. 19.

Episode Introduction

Welcome to the All Things Property Podcast, where we cut through the corporate script and get real about the changing landscape of property. 

In this episode, Simon Bacon and Ian Sadler dive deep into the practical realities of regaining possession when Section 21 is abolished. 

How will landlords adapt? 

What rights and protections kick in for tenants? 

With straight-talking advice, they break down Section 8 notices, covering rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, selling  and moving in.

They reveal the new processes, notice periods and documentation requirements.

Plus, hear how these shifts offer tenants greater security, flexibility and time to plan their next move. 

Whether you're a landlord or a tenant, this episode is packed with actionable guidance to help navigate the road ahead, all rooted in strong relationships and transparent communication.

Chapters

00:00 Process for eviction notices

05:25 New rules for landlord notice periods

08:58 Tenant notice periods and security

09:57 Flexible tenant notice period

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Get in touch with Simon for all your property needs. 
www.prefprop.com

E: simon@prefprop.com

T: 0121 2402244

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Again, in the last episode we talked about the abolition of section 21. Now the obvious question landlords are going to be asking, I would imagine, is if that route disappears, how do they actually regain possession of their property? Welcome to the All Things Property podcast with me, Simon Bacon of Preferential Properties. Every week, Ian Sadler and I will delve into All Things Property. We'll guide you through with friendly, no nonsense advice.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Well, I think they'll be serving a section notice 8 notice, and I think the best person to explain that is uh is you. Oh thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

So give me give me an example of um where you think section eight notice is going to be needed, where we perhaps would have used a section 21.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

The most common ground will be uh sale of your property, I think. Okay. Um there are various others of rent arrears, antisocial behaviour.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Okay, well let's let's talk about um obviously the old chestnut rent arrears. Two slightly slightly different grounds on that one. Um so if they're not paying their rent, then they have to be three months in arrears at the time you serve the section eight notice. Um and they also have to be the same amount in arrears at the point you go to court. Right. So but the advantage with that is it's a much shorter timescale. So if someone hasn't paid their rent for specific reasons, then they only have four weeks from serving the notice to be able to remedy that. Right. So that's that's an important, important one. So really for landlords, the advantage is it's only a a four-week um notice period, but you have to be more in arrears than you were previously. It's three months in arrears now.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Another example then, antisocial behaviour, what would the process for that?

SPEAKER_01 2:01

No notice period. Um, so if there is antisocial behaviour, you don't have to give any kind of notice period for certain.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

You just need to make sure it's all documented.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Yep, you do, and that's the important thing. And although they say there's no notice period, the courts won't consider that unless you have gone through a fairly rigorous note-keeping and documentation of exactly what that antisocial behaviour is. And that's where you know, but but that's no different to whether there was a section 21 or not a section 21. Antisocial behaviour, noise nuisance, you know, these are all subjective grounds. So, what you've got to remember as a landlord is you have to prove that that antisocial behaviour is actually occurring, that there is actual noise nuisance, it's not just a spurious claim for doing that. That's that's the difference, that's the fundamentals between section 21. If you're experiencing antisocial behaviour or noise nuisance, you could go, well, okay, I'm going to serve your section 21 now. You can still serve a section 8. The advantage for landlords is there is no notice period, but what you've got to do is make sure that you have documented and provide the evidence that this behaviour is actually occurring. Another example would be a landlord wanting to sell his property. Okay, that's again has some implications. So previously, section 21, two months notice. If a landlord wants to serve notice because the tenant because they want to move in, then there's going to be a much longer notice period. The notice period is going to be four months, and you can't just go, Oh, I want to um move in, tenant moves out, and then you go, I don't want to sell it anymore, I want to rent it, because you will be limited as to being able to re-rent that property. And I think I need to clarify this, but I think it is going to be somewhere between six and twelve months that you won't be able to re-rent your property out. So, as a landlord, you have to be certain that that is the course of action you want to take. What I would say, slightly controversial, and there's been a lot in the press about this over the past few weeks, is there are lots of landlords who, if they are thinking of selling their properties, are serving Section 21s now to give them a little bit of breathing space because if they sell it, go to sell it now, they serve a notice, then not having to um comply with the law changes when they come into effect in May.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

It might also be worth saying that if a tenancy you can you cannot serve the notice for uh selling the property until the tenancy has um gone twelve months. So you if you rented the property out on the in month one and you tried to serve the notice after month four, you couldn't do it, you have to wait twelve months before you can do that. Right, okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

I think the other thing to also bear in mind is that Section 8 uh notices, unlike Section 21s, will now be valid for a period of 12 months rather than the original six months that uh section twenty-one was valid for.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

It's worth explaining that a tenant has the advantage of a four-month notice period in certain circumstances. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

So we're we've talked about from a landlord's perspective in and gone through what the various grounds are, but if you're a tenant, what does that actually mean for you? What are the what are the changes and how are they going to impact you as a tenant?

SPEAKER_00 5:57

I think as a tenant, generally you've got more security of tenure, which is a good thing. I think from a notice perspective, if a landlord serves notice, a four-month notice to sell a property, rather than give you just two months, which is no real time to find another property in a market that's not got that much available, it gives you four months to make plans and to achieve another rental or a purchase, maybe in that time scale. I think you're right.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

I've had a couple of instances recently where you know you you have to make that, you know, I suppose dreaded phone call to a tenant to say, um, look, I'm really sorry. Landlord has has just been in touch to say they are looking to sell the property. Do you know the first question that a tenant asked me? How long have I got? Yeah. So I think the fact that it does give a tenant, you know, a longer lead-in period will hopefully give them a little bit more security, a little bit more confidence that actually, yes, you know, we've got some time to to go and and find somewhere. Because, you know, if you've been in a property for, I don't know, six or seven years and suddenly your landlord wants to sell it, which they're entitled to do, then you know, there has to be some element of protection, I think, for tenants and confidence that they're going to be given enough time to find some.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

I think that the key word with this four-month notice is flexibility on both parts. I think you you can serve the notice, and yes, it's four months and it's rigid and it's timescales, but I think discussions with tenants that if you find somewhere earlier than that, yeah, you can leave whenever you like. That would benefit both landlord and tenant. If they find the perfect property after six weeks, then they don't want to have to wait four months and lose it. So it's it's giving everybody more options. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

And I think, you know, for me that's one of the real key takeaways from this episode, I guess, will be that, you know, communication and good relationships, the more you the more you have a relationship with the tenant through your letting agent, um, or as an as a you know a let-only landlord, the relationship you build up with your tenant, that's I think one of the fundamental changes.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

No, it smooths oils the wheels, no end.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Yeah, absolutely. Um because you know, often tenants do find somewhere and then want to just as soon as they found some, they want to be able to go. And from a landlord's perspective, to be able to market that property for sale during that time. Everybody gains, don't they? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And you end up with you know being able to end a tenancy on better um you know, better relationships and just a straightforward I'm sorry, but the landlord is selling. In the next episode, we'll look in more detail at the end of fixed term tenancies, what it means for landlords and tenants. Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of the All Things Property Podcast. If you found this episode useful, don't forget to subscribe, like and share. These things really help us reach the people who need to hear this advice. See you next week.