Section 21 Notices
A section 21 notice is the most used way to begin the eviction process for tenants with an assured shorthold tenancy.
If a tenant signed a new contract or a renewal agreement on or after 1 October 2015, a section 21 notice must be on a special form and give at least 2 months' notice. A landlord cannot use a section 21 notice to evict a tenant during the fixed term of a contract. It cannot be served within the first 4 months of a tenancy.
A landlord does not have to give a reason for wanting a tenant to leave. But they must have given the tenant certain documents at the start of the tenancy. They need to have followed certain rules for protecting a tenancy deposit.
A section 21 does not have to be on a special form if a tenancy started before 1 October 2015 and a tenant has not signed a renewal agreement after this date. The notice, however, must be in writing and give a minimum of 2 months' notice. If you have a periodic tenancy, one that runs, for example, from month to month, and never had a fixed term, the notice must also -
- state it is being issued under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988
- end on the last day of a tenancy period which is usually the day before rent is due