The Deregulation Bill has now been signed into law. The changes it makes are a result of the fall out of the Superstrike v Rodriques case and subsequent Superstrike Appeal which have taken nearly two years to resolve. The case concerned a landlord who had not protected the deposit, even though the tenancy began before it became law to protect deposits in April 2007. The landlord was relying on a Section 21 Notice to evict his tenants which was deemed invalid because the deposit had not been protected.
Among the changes, landlords/agents will no longer need to re-serve Prescribed Information on tenancy renewal (provided the deposit remains in the same protection scheme). The Prescribed Information is a form provided by the deposit schemes which basically states that the deposit is protected. Both the tenants and landlord or agent sign the form. In 2014, whilst awaiting the outcome of the Superstrike Appeal, the deposit protection schemes advised landlords and agents to re-serve the Prescribed Information on renewal as there may be a risk that any subsequent Section 21 Notice would be invalid if this was not done. Under the new Deregulation Bill this is no longer necessary.