Housing Changes Timeline England and Wales

Anyone with rental income of more than £10,000 a year from property must be ready to start recording and filing online.

If the tenant has less than 4 months rent arrears, the length of the section 8 notice can be 2 months on grounds 8, 10 and 11 (reduced from 4 months notice).

Where the tenant is in 4 months or more arrears, the length of the section 8 remains at 4 weeks.

The right to rent guidance has been updated with new documents acceptable when conducting checks.

01 June 2021

New section 21 and section 8 notice to be used in England.

Notice periods reduced from 6 months to 4 months in most cases.Level of rent arrears where 4 weeks notice can be given is reduced from 6 months arrears to 4 months arrears.

New section 8 notice to be used in England

In certain circumstances, a debtor (tenant in our context) will be able to apply for breathing space where no action (including serving a section 8 notice on rent arrears ground) must be taken during the breathing space timeframe.

01 April 20201

Electrical inspections and reports required on all existing tenancies.

The increased notice lengths and evictions ban has been extended to 31 May 2021 for England and 30 June 2021 for Wales.

11 January 2021

The evictions ban has been extended to 21 February 2021 for England and 31 March 2021 for Wales.

The How to Rent Guide which is legally required to be provided to tenants by landlords in England granting an assured shorthold tenancy has been updated.

Evictions are suspended in England for most possession orders until 11 January 2021.

Apply for grant vouchers worth up to £5,000 under the scheme

A new section 8 notice is prescribed. Six months notice extended to 31 March 2020 and reduction in notice period for anti-social behaviour.

Courts reopen for possession cases after temporary suspension due to Covid-19 Rules. Pre-action lan to be followed before serving a possession notice.

New section 21 prescribed form 6A to be used.

Six months notice required in most cases although for section 8 there are a number of differences.

Six months notice required except for section 8 anti-social behaviour which remains at 3 months.

Requirement to ensure electrical standards (18th edition) are met and an inspection and report completed.

Tenant fees ban extends to existing tenancies from 1 June 2020

Limits amount which can be charged for a failure to pay rent and the loss of a key.

Existing tenancies must have a minimum EPC rating of “E”.

A landlord with a notice about to expire cannot start possession proceedings during this 90 day period

Coronavirus Act 2020 commences including 3 months notice.

Fitness for Human Habitation Act applies to existing periodic tenancies.

When receiving a holding deposit (before a tenancy has been granted) specified information must be given.

 It is an offence for a landlord or agent to require a prohibited payment to be made to the landlord, agent, or any other person in consideration of the grant, renewal or continuance of a standard occupation contract (AST), or pursuant to a term which purports to require the payment to be made.

How to rent guide updated for tenant fees ban.

Section 21, form 6A updated.

From 1 June 2019, if you enter into a tenancy agreement, student let or licence to occupy housing in the private rented sector, you will be prohibited from charging any fees or other payments that are not included in the list of permitted payments.

Letting agents to have client money protection.

In order to obtain an exemption if property does not meet minimum “E” rating, landlord must spend at least £3,500

Any privately rented home, including the common parts of a shared building, must be fit for someone to live in throughout a tenancy, not just the start.

Parts of the Deregulation Act 2015 apply to existing tenancies:

• Retaliatory eviction provisions
• Removal of requirement to expire notice “at the end of a period”
• Time limits when section 21 can be served and must be used
• Return apportioned rent if the tenant leaves as a result of section 21

Changes made to HMO licensing – number of storeys removed (so now any property with 5 or more unrelated sharers requires a licence) and minimum room sizes.

How to rent guide updated.

GDPR regulations commence making changes to data protection rules.

If a landlord is convicted of a “banning order offence” a local authority may apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a banning order against the landlord or agent who committed the offence

Landlords can carry out the annual gas safety check in the two months before the due date and retain the existing expiry date.

New tenancies and renewals must have an EPC rating of at least “E”.

Where a new electrical appliance is purchased on or after 8 December 2016 and then provided in a letting, landlords and agents must act with due care to ensure the electrical equipment being supplied is safe and have certain accompanied information.

Requirement for all landlords to be registered. All agents must have a licence. All self-managing landlords must be licensed.

Tenants can request for “reasonable” energy efficiency improvements.

Landlords and agents need to check the identity of all prospective occupiers.

Big changes to requirements before a section 21 notice can be served and other things:

• How to rent guide
• Provide EPC and gas safety
• Retaliatory evictions
• Apporttioned rent
• Prescribed section 21 form 6A
• Time limits for serving and using section 21
• Removal of requirement to expire notice “at the end of a period”

“Home business tenancy” within residential premises will not become a business tenancy under Part 2 Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 if certain conditions are met.

Requirement to have a smoke alarm installed on each storey and a CO alarm in a room with solid fuel appliance.

Agents to display fees. Also brought in unfair terms.

Several prescribed forms updated:

• Section 8 notice seeking possession for England
• Section 13 notice proposing rent increase for England
• Section 6 notice proposing new terms (rarely used) for England
• Notice That Assured Agricultural Occupancy is to be Assured Shorthold Tenancy for England

Changes made to deposit protection including:

• Restrictions on claim for penalty for deposits received before 6 April 2007
• Service of a section 21 notice
• Superstrike deposits
• Periodic tenancies and renewals – re-issue of prescribed information

Distribution of heating or hot water from a central source.

New ground 7A added for use with section 8 notice – serious offence committed.

Letting agents must be a member of a redress scheme.

New ground added for use with a section 8 notice:

“[the tenant] has been guilty of conduct causing or likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to the landlord of the dwelling-house, or a person employed (whether or not by the landlord) in connection with the exercise of the landlord’s housing management functions, and that is directly or indirectly related to or affects those functions,”

Universal Credit begins to be phased in. Phase 1 was April 2013 – October 2013.

Council Tax empty homes and undergoing major works exemptions removed. In addition, second homes could be charged extra council tax if long term empty. 

• The time for protecting a deposit is increased from 14 days to 30 days
• Prescribed information is also increased from 14 days to 30 days
• The time limit of 30 days will be absolute
• The penalty payable will be between 1 and 3 times the deposit
• A former tenant may make a claim for the penalty
• If a landlord has failed to protect within 30 days, the landlord may only serve a section 21 notice by repaying the deposit in full
• Providing prescribed information will allow service of section 21.

Smoking ban (applies to communal areas so affected rented property with shared parts).

Prohibits discrimination:

• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion and belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

Requirement to protect deposits in connection with an assured shorthold tenancy.

• Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
• HMO definition of more than two unrelated sharers.
• Licensing of rented property
• Tenancy deposit schemes (brought in later).

Link goes to HMO page but HHSRS is just above in left column.

Requirement to obtain annual gas safety record and provide occupier with a copy.

All new tenancies assured shorthold by default. Notice required to create an assured tenancy (reverse of position since January 1989).

Persons who hire out furniture in the course of a business (and this includes furniture provided with rented accommodation) are required to comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 which set safety standards for fire and flame-retarding requirements for upholstered furniture manufactured after 1950.

Start of assured shorthold tenancies but a “section 20” notice had to be served in order to create an assured shorthold (otherwise was assured).