Are you confused about when you serve a notice seeking possession of  your property and for how long? due to the ever changing legislation, we thought you may benefit from a brief explanation: In England: After 29 August 2020 you must now give at least 6 months notice on your tenants In Wales: If you served a notice after 24 July 2020 you must have given 6 months notice The change in notice period will stay the same until 31 March 2021, although this situation is fluid and you should keep in touch with our blogs and follow us on face book for updates. The stay on possessions being heard at Court was lifted on 20 September 2020.  However you must serve a notice that you intend the Court to proceed with the possession before the Court will list it for a hearing.  There is ever more onus on the Landlord to attempt to find a resolution before making their application for a possession order, so a pre-action letter is ever more important. The lock down and corona virus restrictions have put a huge amount of stress on both Landlords and Tenants, originally it was 2 weeks for a Section 8 notice and 2 months for a Section 21, now it is 6 months.  In Wales we have interest free loans available for tenants who may be unable to pay their rent, because at some stage in the future, Landlords who have mortgages will need to recoup the unpaid rent. Confused? well the changes are fluid and no doubt will change again.  If you are unfamiliar with the changes then you may suffer a financial loss.  So if you have any questions then speak to our team who will be happy to guide you in the right direction.   s

Under the Renters' Reform Act, the UK Government proposes to do away with the Section 21 'no fault' eviction process, a process that Landlords are most familiar with. Shadow Housing Secretary Thangam Debbonaire believes in giving even greater rights to tenants. The Renters Reform Act was announced in the Queens's speech on 19 December following the General Election, there was a consultation period July 19 to October 19. The Government considers this to be a modernisation of the rental market, believing it to be a 'fairer deal for both Landlords and tenants'. However, this is a thorny issue, how will Landlords feel with the abolition of the 2 month no fault eviction process? will it put Landlords off renting properties and will there be additional pressure on Social Housing and Local Authorities?  How will the Courts deal with the hearings that may have to take place if the 'paper' Section 21 notice is abolished? There will be an extension to the eviction grounds contained in the S8 notice, but surely the Homelessness Act will also have to change because a S21 notice is actually saying: 'I was evicted not because I was a bad tenant, but because my Landlord simply wanted their property back from me'.  The Section 21 notice has positives for tenants as well as negatives.  The new process will give more security to a tenant, but will it really resolve the lack of housing in the country? We will keep a careful eye on the changes and we will write a blog for you with our interpretation of the reforms and how it can help both the Landlords and our Tenants. if you have any questions, then please give our team a ring on 01446789359 [caption id="attachment_680" align="aligncenter" width="546"] Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Charles, the Prince of Wales are seen ahead the Queen's Speech during the State Opening of Parliament in London, Britain October 14, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Pool[/caption]