Jonathan Lynn, Partner of Courtyard Solicitors and property law expert, has some important information for landlords and tenants. The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government has started to produce a monthly newsletter. Covering developments in the private rented sector. The first edition is just out. The link to the full newsletter is here.
Contained in the newsletter are, amongst other things, details of the progress of The Tenant Fees Bill through parliament, some information on license fees and a model longer tenancy agreement.
Jonathan emphasizes the following extract to be of particular interest to landlords and tenants:
“Deregulation Act 2015
From the 1 October, some provisions of the Deregulation Act 2015 came into force for all tenancies, which previously only applied to tenancies agreed on or after 1 October 2015. Notably, that a landlord must wait at least four months from the start of a tenancy before serving a section 21 notice and must give a tenant at least two months’ notice in writing in most situations. Landlords agreeing a tenancy after 1 October 2015 must also comply with certain requirements at the outset of a tenancy such as providing an up to date version of the How to Rent guide and a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate. These specific rules do not apply to tenancies that began before 1 October 2015 and there is no intention at present to extend the requirements.”
This is very clear.
In tenancies commencing before 1st October 2015 there is no need to comply with the requirements highlighted above which do apply to all post October 2015 tenancies.
