Just like buses, you wait all year for a new section 8 notice and then two come along at the same time! On the 4 May a new prescribed form of section 8 notice was issued and then on the 12 May another new one was issued for use from 1 June!

Changes for section 21 and section 8 notice periods. The procedures, notice periods and evidence required when serving a section 8 notice were never straight forward. This was, in one sense,
simplified under the Coronavirus Act 2020 when most notice periods across
England and Wales became three months. In July 2020 Wales extended
most three month notice to six months’ notice and at the end of
August England did likewise. Some grounds, like anti-social behaviour
domestic violence (and serious rent arrears in England) had the notice
period reduced.

As the country slowly moves toward unlocking, new notice periods have
been announced for England for the period from 1 June 2020.

Section 21 (Form 6A)
A new prescribed form has been issued. Part of the changes mean a
section 21 is now valid for eight months from date of service. A
section 21 notice served to a tenant must be a minimum of four months’
notice, which means the landlord will have four months from the expiry of
the notice to apply to court for possession.

Section 8 (Form 3)
A new prescribed form has also been issued to reflect the latest changes for
the grounds and notice periods. Grounds 8, 10 and 11 for rent arrears
that are less than four months will now require four months’ notice and
any rent arrears that exceed four months will now be a four-week
notice period.

Grounds 1-6, 9-13, 15 and 16 now require four months’ notice instead of six months. Ground 7 is a two-month notice period whilst ground 7A is one month and 7B and 17 are two weeks. Ground 14 has always been the notice
that must be served to the tenant, but there is no notice period required.
This means the landlord can apply to court as soon as the notice is served.

Further Changes
From 1 August 2021 there are further amendments to the notice period for
rent arrears. Arrears that are less than four months will require a two-month notice period. Any arrears that exceed four months will remain as a four- week notice period. It is our understanding that if a section
8 or 21 has been served with a longer time frame that you are able to re-
serve the notice for the shorter notice period, however you would need to
make it very clear as to which notice you will be relying on if you choose
to apply to court for possession. If a tenant has applied for a standard
‘breathing space’ then a notice for arrears cannot be served during the 60
days of the breathing space. If they are receiving treatment for
mental health crisis, then notice cannot be served as long as they are
receiving treatment and for a further 30 after their treatment has stopped.

In Wales the Coronavirus Act rules are already set to continue till the end of June. Therefore, during June it is anticipated that an announcement will
be made about a new notice scheme to continue beyond that date. Whilst
some of the details will most likely be different, it is expected that the rules
will be relaxed rather than removed.

Fire Safety Act 2021
On 29 April the act received royal assent and has amended the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Part of this legislation will come into force on 29 June 2021, with the rest coming in to England and Wales when Ministers introduce it in England and in Wales.

Section 1 – Premises to which the fire safety order applies.
This is where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises. It
now explicitly includes the building structure and the external walls as
well as the common parts. Anything attached to the external walls is also
included (like balconies) along with doors and windows.
A building that has two dwellings and may not share any communal areas
would now fall under section 1 due to the building having more than one
domestic dwelling. Even though there may be no shared areas this means,
from implementation, that this building would need a fire risk
assessment. The individual flats in a block remain excluded, apart from the
front door being part of the common parts risk assessment.

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accepts responsibility for its accuracy. © TFP