Page 35 - Redbrik: Property and marketing Autumn/Winter 2019

government proposals would require a minimum term rather than shorthold agreement.
In abolishing the Section 21 notice, it is proposed that landlords instead use a Section 8 notice to ask the tenants to leave, but you must have a ground (or reason) to ask the tenant to leave.
A section 8 notice is the first step a landlord would have to take to make a tenant leave their home.
Consultations are currently taking place across the industry with discussions focused on the reasons you would be allowed to ask your tenants to leave.
Examples include:
• If a landlord wishes to sell the property – only after two years
• If a landlord or family member wishes to move back into the property - as long as you have informed the tenant at the beginning of the tenancy
One of the very positive things being consulted on is speeding up the process of regaining possession of a property (using a section 8) when a tenant is in rent arrears.
This is currently a difficult and cumbersome process, so the government is proposing the following changes:
• A landlord can serve a two-week notice when a tenant has accrued two months of rental arrears
• The ground is mandatory if the tenant still has one month’s (or more) arrears outstanding at the time of a hearing
• If the arrears are less than
a month, the ground will be discretionary, and it will be up to the court to decide whether to grant possession
• Where a landlord can prove a pattern of behaviour of a tenant building up arrears and paying them off on three occasions, the judge must consider this as a mandatory ground
• The current requirement for the mandatory ground is that there is two months’ arrears when notice is served and on the date of the court hearing.
To chat to a member of our lettings team for advice on these issues or any other letting requirement,
call 0114 361 0140
or 01246 380414 or email lettings@redbrik.co.uk.
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