Section 21 Notice (Form 6A) Notice Period Changes in England from 1 October 2021

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1 New section 8 & 21 Notice period

1.1 Notice periods from 1 October 2021

1.2 Can I backdate the notice?

1.3 Could notice periods be extended again?

1.4 Has the notice periods changed for Wales too?

New section 8 & 21 Notice period

The Government has passed legislation to return notice periods to their Pre-COVID-19 levels in England.

The notice periods have changed multiple times to the dismay of many landlords since March 2020.

Notice periods from 1 October 2021

From the 1 October 2021, notice periods will return to their Pre-COVID-19 levels. This means that the following notice periods will be applicable for assured shorthold tenancies:

For Section 21 (England), the Notice period is 2 months from 1 October 2021.
The Section 8 notice using any of grounds 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9 or 16 the notice period is two months.
Section 8 rent arrears grounds (8, 10 and 11) the notice period is two weeks
Section 8 using grounds 3, 4, 7b, 12, 13, 14A, 15 or 17 notice period is two weeks
Section 8 ground 7a (anti-social behaviour with a conviction) the notice period is one calendar month
Section 8 uses Ground 14 (the discretionary ground for anti-social behaviour). The notice period is immediately from the time the notice is deemed received by the tenant.

Can I backdate the notice?

This is a big No! any notices served before 1 October are required to comply with the legislation at that time.

However, you can revoke an existing notice by giving the notice to cancel and reserve a new section 21notice giving 2 months.

Could notice periods be extended again?

It all depends on COVID-19 and how well we control the virus. The UK Government retains the legal power to reintroduce more extended notice periods again if COVID-19 becomes a serious problem again.

Yes, you must use the new forms; they can be downloaded from our website under the services page.

The wording in the new forms has changed considerably.