From 1 August 2021, the notice period for section 8 notices changed again. The current notice periods for section 8 and section 21 will run to the end of September in England when notice periods will hopefully return to normal. See the chart below for the current notice periods.
How will this impact gaining judgements? Housing law specialists, JMW Solicitors, are advising “The courts will continue to operate on their revised working practices for some time, so court proceedings will remain slower. It is likely that evictions will start trending upwards back to pre-Covid levels but landlords would still be best advised to negotiate exits wherever possible as the court process will remain slow.”
| Section and Ground | Reason for Serving Notice | Length of Notice Period |
|---|---|---|
| Section 21 | Various | Served after 1 June 2021 four months |
| Section 8 ground 14 | Anti-social behaviour | No minimum notice period (notice expires immediately after service of notice) |
| Section 8 grounds 8, 10 and 11 (where rent arrears exceed the equivalent of four months’ rent) | Rent arrears | Four weeks |
| Section 8 ground 7 | Death of the former tenant | Two months |
| Section 8 grounds 8, 10 and 11 (where rent arrears are less than four months’ rent) | Rent arrears | Two months |
| Section 8 grounds 1-6, 9, 12, 13, 15 or 16 | Various | Four months |