Section 21 Notice Versus Section 8 Notice: Which To Serve And When To Do It

By Author: Carolyn Clayton
Total Articles: 130
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Section 21 Notices and Section 8 Notices often cause many problems for landlords. They are frequently misunderstood and confused, meaning that landlords sometimes serve the wrong notice at the wrong time. This can lead to frustrating delays of up to a few months. Discover below the chief differences between a Section 21 Notice and a Section 8 Notice and learn when you should serve each.

Section 21 Notice
The most used of all possession notices, Section 21 Notices can be served by a landlord whenever he or she desires to put an end to the tenancy. Section 21 Notices are not particularly complicated but problems frequently arise when they are sent too late.

A Section 21 Notice can be of two kinds, fixed term or periodic. The former should be served when your agreement with the tenant has not yet ended. By contrast, the latter should be served when the agreement with the tenant has concluded, but he or she still lives in the property.

Section 8 Notice
You use a Section 8 Notice to claim possession of your property when a tenant refuses to leave it. You can base your claim for possession on a number ...
... of grounds, which are divided into mandatory and discretionary. Mandatory grounds are more powerful: if the court deems that any of these apply, then the tenant must immediately relinquish possession. On the other hand, when discretionary grounds are proved possession is not normally granted right away; the court will further investigate the matter before passing a final judgement. Grounds pertaining to rent arrears normally weigh heavy in the court's decision.

Which Should I Serve?
When you want to reclaim possession of your property you should normally serve a Section 21 Notice. When rent arrears are your concern, you should serve a Section 8 Notice. The notice you serve depends entirely on your situation.

For example, if you want to gain possession of your property immediately after the tenancy agreement expires, you should serve a Section 21 Notice.
Note that you must allow a two-month leeway to your tenant whenever you wish to end a tenancy after the first six months. It's crucial that the Section 21 Notice you serve quotes the right dates, otherwise it may be considered invalid.

Deadlines
A Section 21 Notice for possession has to reach the tenant before his or her next rental due date. The expiry date is then two months after the rental due date. If no problems arise, then you'll be able to take possession of your property in about two months, or if the tenant finds accommodation elsewhere during the notice term, even sooner. However, it frequently takes three months or even more for some landlords to reclaim their property. When it comes to the Section 8 Notice, the situation is less straightforward; if the court gets involved, then expect a delay of up to a few months.
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