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A common mistake Landlords make with Form 6a Section 21 Notices

A common mistake Landlords make with Form 6a Section 21 Notices

Jason Hayter is a paralegal in our Dispute Resolution Team, in this article he looks at Form 6A describing the common mistake landlords make with Section 21.

Section 21 is the no fault way of obtaining possession from an assured shorthold tenant.

What is a Section 21 Notice?

A Section 21 Housing Act 1988 notice is the first step to obtaining the property back. These are used when the landlord wants to regain possession of a property at the end of an assured shorthold tenancy or wishes to exercise a 'Break Clause'.

The landlord is able to issue the tenant with a Section 21 notice without giving any reason for ending the tenancy agreement..

Form 6A

A Form 6a, or a Form 6a notice, should be used where a no fault possession of accommodation let under an assured shorthold tenancy is sought.

This form must be used for all assured shorthold tenancies created on or after 1 October 2015 (excluding statutory periodic tenancies which have come into being on or after 1 October 2015) and on all tenancies from 1st October 2018.

Frequent mistake with Form 6A

Paragraph 4 of Form 6A, on page 2, requests the name and address of the landlord. This is straightforward but the form provides a very small space for this information to be included. Some online forms do not include a field to complete at all.

Many agents and landlords are not stating this information in this box. Instead, they are simply completing the signatory boxes.

You can read more about the eviction process in my article, 'How to evict a tenant' by clicking here.

A specialist dispute resolution solicitors' view

Jason Hayter, Dispute Resolution Paralegal, says “The name and address of the landlord should be provided. You risk wasted costs and time if you commence possession proceedings on the basis of a Section 21 Notice which does not include this information. It is very simple but it is surprising how often this mistake is made."

Section 21 evictions are set to be scrapped in 2024. Find out more here.

Landlord & tenant solicitors in Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and The New Forest

If you wish for us to assist you with eviction related enquiries, including drafting and issuing proceedings or eviction notices, please feel free to contact us on 01202 499255.

We offer all new clients a free initial chat with one of our bright, friendly lawyers over the phone or by video call.

The content of this article, blog or video is not intended as specific legal advice. For tailored assistance, please contact a member of our team.

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