Important update on Section 8 notices
The Government has introduced a new prescribed Section 8 Notice (Form 3) which will come into force on Tuesday 4 May.
The new document will be available on the Government's website in the near future, however landlords are being warned that the currently available form will be out of date by the time it counts as served.
Due to the bank holiday, landlords who serve a Section 8 Notice between 29 April – 3 May will usually count as serving the document on 4 May 2021.
The form also provides incorrect information on notice periods which is likely to be confusing for landlords and the courts.
This new version of the form has been updated to refer to the breathing space regulations which come into force on 4th May; making it clear that while the tenant is in a breathing space, landlords may not apply to court if their Section 8 notice includes any of grounds 8, 10 or 11 (the rent arrears grounds).
The Section 8 notice is a prescribed form and landlords must use the most up to date version when serving a notice. Which form is correct depends on when the document counts as served on the tenant.
As the new form is not yet available on the gov.uk website, this means any notices served during this time period should be invalid.
Incorrect notice periods
As with all Section 8 notices, the new form sets out how long the notice period should be for each ground. However, these notice periods are currently incorrect as they are not accounting for the temporary changes introduced because of coronavirus.
The NRLA has raised this error with MHCLG and we are hopeful they will amend and fix the document ahead of time.
Instead of following the notice periods on the form itself, landlords should use the temporary coronavirus notice periods until these restrictions end. These are:
Anti-social behaviour grounds
Where ground 7a is used then the notice period for Section 8 is always at least one calendar month, regardless of other grounds being attached.
Where ground 14 is used then the landlord may apply to court once the notice is served on the tenant (this usually means the next working day). This is still the case even if you attach other grounds to the notice. However, if ground 7a is used, then the notice period for that takes precedence.
In either case, anti-social behaviour is a difficult area to establish and you should seek legal advice before including these grounds on your notice.
Rent arrears grounds
Where grounds 8, 10, and 11 (the rent arrears grounds) are included on the form then the notice periods are:
- 4 weeks when rent arrears total more than 6 months at the date of service and no other grounds are being relied upon; or
- 6 months if the rent arrears are less than 6 months at the date of service.
Most other grounds
Grounds 1-6, 9, 12, 13, 15 and 16 all require a minimum of six months’ notice. This notice period takes precedence over all shorter notice periods except for the anti-social behaviour grounds (7a and 14).
Other shorter grounds
Grounds 7 and 7b remain at three months’ notice when cited on their own. Similarly, grounds 17 and 14za require two weeks notice when cited on their own.
