Today (23 July 2020), Julie James MS, Minister for Housing and Local Government of the Welsh Government has announced new rules which will require six months notice to be given to tenants in Wales from tomorrow (24 July 2020).
The Coronavirus Act 2020 (Assured Tenancies and Assured Shorthold Tenancies, Extension of Notice Periods) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2020 commences 24 July 2020 and amends the Coronavirus Act 2020 which in turn amends the Housing Act 1988 for Wales only.
Before these regulations, the length of any notice to be given for an assured shorthold tenancy was at least three months.
The new regulations change three months to six months for both the section 8 and section 21 notices.
The only exception is that for a section 8 notice, grounds 7A and 14 (anti-social behaviour) remain at three months.
This means even if the tenant is two months or more in arrears, in Wales, the section 8 notice must be at least six months long as does any section 21 notice!
The new rules only apply to notices served on or after 24 July 2020 and do not apply to any notice served before that date. Notices served before 24 July will remain valid if at least three months were given.
The new rules will last at least until 30 September 2020 when the relevant part of the Coronavirus Act is set to end. But, this date can be extended by the Welsh Government.
The purpose of these temporary alterations is to ensure landlords give increased notice to tenants facing eviction from rented properties before landlords can issue proceedings for possession. The effect will to be to further delay evictions during the ongoing public health emergency; fewer people will face eviction into homelessness at a time when local authorities are less able to respond to these situations; those renting their homes will benefit from increased security and reduced anxiety; and individuals at risk of eviction will be provided with increased time to seek support to resolve any problems.
The notices on our website need amending because the prescribed form (section 8) has also been changed by the new rules. This will be completed during the morning of the 24 July (it’s getting late now). We will Tweet when it’s been done (visible in the footer of all pages on this website).
Our notices on the website have been updated. See the possession wizard.
