After the Term
It is possible to terminate an assured shorthold tenancy after the term (or under a break clause in the lease) by serving a notice under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. However, it is important to ensure that the additional requirements, prior to service of the notice, have been complied with fully otherwise the notice will be invalid.
Form and Timing of Notice
This is a standard form of notice, which must be served on the tenant. In addition, The Housing Act 1988 provides that it is not possible for an order for possession to take effect earlier than six months from the commencement of the term of the original tenancy. Moreover, a Section 21 Notice to determine a contractual fixed term tenancy may not be given within the first four months of the tenancy.
Tenant Deposit Scheme
The landlord must also comply with the requirements in relation to the tenant deposit scheme, prior to serving a Section 21 Notice, which should be complied with within thirty days of receipt of the deposit.
Specifically, the landlord must provide the following information to the tenant:
amount of deposit paid
address of the property
name, address, telephone number and any e-mail address or fax number of the landlord
name, address, telephone number and any e-mail address or fax number of the tenant, including details that should be used by the landlord or scheme administrator to contact the tenant at the end of the tenancy
circumstances when all or part of the deposit may be retained by the landlord, according to the terms of the tenancy agreement.
In addition, the landlord must provide the tenant with the following prescribed information about the tenant deposit scheme:
the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and any fax number of the scheme administrator
any information contained in a leaflet supplied by the scheme administrator to the landlord
the procedures under which a deposit amount may be paid or repaid to the tenant at the end of the tenancy
the procedures for how the landlord or tenant can be contacted at the end of the tenancy
the procedures where the landlord and tenant dispute the deposit amount to be paid or repaid to the tenant
the facilities available under the Tenancy Deposit Scheme for enabling a dispute relating to the deposit to be resolved without litigation.
Finally, the landlord is required to sign a certificate confirming the following:
the information provided by the landlord in respect of the tenancy deposit held under the tenant deposit scheme
that the landlord has given the tenant an opportunity to sign any document containing the prescribed information provided by the landlord to confirm that the information provided is accurate.
Deregulation Act 2015
Finally, the landlord cannot serve a Section 21 Notice unless it has done all of the following:
provided the tenant with an energy performance certificate
provided the tenant with a gas safety certificate
provided the tenant with the prescribed information relating to the rights and responsibilities of the landlord and the tenant under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy comprising the “How to rent: The checklist for renting in England”.
