Abolishing Section 21!

ABOLISHING SECTION 21!

The Government’s levelling up Rental Reform white paper bill has included this in detail.

Section 21, often referred to as the ‘No Fault Eviction’, has been a security blanket for landlords. If you as a landlord wanted your property back, then a Section 21 will guarantee you your property back.

By abolishing the Section 21, this will no longer be the case. The tenant will be able to give 2 months’ notice at any time and the landlord must give a reason as to why they want the property back and that reason must be one of the grounds of a new updated Section 8 notice.

If I look at the occasions we have issued a section 21 over the last 30 odd years (and there really has not been that many), 95% of the time, it was because the tenants were in rent arrears, the landlord wanted to sell his property or the landlord wanted to move back in. The new Section 8 notice will have additional grounds to cover these reasons.

There are additional caveats to these. If you decide you want to sell the property and give the tenants notice, you must prove it was on a portal for sale and if your situation changes and you decide to put the property back up to rent, then there must be a gap of 3 months between the tenants.

If you are seeking possession because the tenant is in the minimum 2 months of arrears and they decide to pay a nominal amount that takes them under the 2-month threshold the day before court, then you will not regain the property (as it is now), however, if the tenant does this 3 times in 3 years, the court will give the property back.

Feeling deflated? Exhausted with all the changes? Then let us take care of your property needs. We promise to hold your hands throughout this process, giving you less stress and more free!

If yancy an informal chat any time, then email me sharon@moveon.biz with your phone number.

Sharon

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MINIMUM EPC RATING TO CHANGE IN 2025?

The Government is in current consultation to bring forward the change in EPC ratings from E to min ‘C’ from 2028 to 2025.

With climate change being a prominent factor in the news at the moment, the government is keen to do their bit.

From 2025 all new builds will be banned from putting in gas boilers to drive us away from gas as a carbon-based fuel. They are looking to replace these boilers with a heat source air pump.

The government introduced a ‘Green Homes Grant’ in September 2020, where they would pay two thirds of an invoice and the public paid one third with a cap of £5000. However, this was closed on 31st March 2021 due to various hitches and lack of skilled workforce. There is talk of them looking at another type of grant– let’s hope so!

Landlords will not be able to issue new tenancies unless their property is rated ‘C’, just like we did with the current system when they banned F and G ratings from the rental sector in April 2018.

The older the property, the more likely you are to be a D or E. I would highly recommend you looking at your current EPC and seeing if you have a potential rating of ‘C’ and what the recommendations are on how to achieve this.

If they insist on landlords upgrading properties to the pump system, this could have a negative impact on the rental sector as it just wouldn’t be affordable for many landlords and the return on investment could take several years to recoup! As they say, ‘watch this space’.

Have a good week!

Sharon Canning

If you would like a friendly, no obligation chat regarding buying, selling, renting or investing in property, then please email sharon@moveon.biz or telephone 01202 711169.

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Possession Notices Back to Pre-COVID Length

When COVID hit us back in March 2020, none of us had any idea of the impact this would have on our lives and how every sector would be affected – good or bad (there are always winners and losers after all).

As it became apparent that COVID was going to be around for a while and many people furloughed, the Government deemed it necessary to bring in additional measures to stop any tenants being evicted from their homes, especially as there was nowhere to go: hotels, etc. were all closed.

The extension of the possession notices from 2 months to 6 months caused huge ramifications to landlords who already had tenants in rent arrears.

Some landlords have been incredibly generous to their tenants where COVID had an impact, and either came up with a payment plan or, in some cases, gifted a month’s rent.

There will always be people who like to use the system, thankfully this is not the majority of tenants.

The government then confirmed that, from the 1^{st of} October, possession notices would revert to as they were in to pre-COVID times, meaning landlords can now give their tenants 2 months’ notice to vacate the property through a Section 21 notice for the time being. Section 8 notices have also reverted to pre-COVID rules.

If you need help or advice on your tenancy management then please do not hesitate to contact us. We are not just good; we are amazingly good!

Have a good month!

Sharon Canning

If you would like a friendly, no obligation chat regarding buying, selling, renting or investing in property, then please email sharon@moveon.biz or telephone 01202 711169.

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