HomeLatest NewsAmendment to Deregulation Bill affects Section 21 Notice
Amendment to Deregulation Bill affects Section 21 Notice
Posted on 02/03/2015 by Sulgrave Estates
The House of Lords vote on 11th February to approve the amendment to the Deregulation Bill will seriously affect a landlord’s rights to serve a Section 21 Notice on their tenants. Should the amendment become law, landlords will not be able to serve a Section 21 Notice if their tenant has made a complaint about the condition of the property and the landlord or agent has not provided an adequate response within 14 days, and/or the local authority serves an improvement notice or emergency remedial action notice.
The Coalition aims to bring these changes into effect within this Parliament which ends on 30th March 2015.
The tenant must submit their complaint in writing and the landlord or agent must (within 14 days) state what action will be taken and provide a time frame for the remedial action (which must be within a reasonable period). It is important the tenant provides sufficient detail in their written complaint to enable the landlord or agent to fully understand the issue and be able to deal with it effectively.
There is some protection for landlords. A Section 21 Notice will not be invalid if the tenant has failed to use the property in a tenant like manner, or the disrepair is due to a breach of the tenant’s obligations under the tenancy agreement, or if a mortgagee is seeking recovery of the property under a mortgage that was in place before the tenancy commenced, or if the property is on the market for sale.
In addition by using the local authority as the arbiter for the materiality of the disrepair, landlords should be protected from being unable to regain possession for minor issues of disrepair.
The Bill will also affect block managers as disrepair of common parts that a tenant uses can also prevent the landlord gaining possession.
To protest against the Deregulation Bill, landlords and agents can sign the E-Petition on the Government’s website.