My mum is retiring from property rentals… so is planning to sell two of her six properties.
One of the tenants is showing no signs of leaving.
We served a Section 21 with the leaving date of 14th May 2026 - we gave her at least three months notice.
I have just been looking at the form N5B for accelerated possession - to get this ready so to speak and noticed…
We don’t have a valid EPC - the house was let in 2008 with an assured tenancy. A couple of other tenancy agreements were given but then this became a periodic tenancy. It has never had an EPC
The form also asks for copy of gas safety certificates prior to the let and during the period of tenancy - we only have kept the most recent years as evidence as the tenancy started in 2008 - I wasn’t aware we had to keep them for the lifetime of the tenancy.
We have not provided a “How to rent” document as this was introduced after the tenancy began
Do we have a leg to stand on with accelerated possession or will the court throw it out?
It depends when the most recent fixed term began. If it pre- Oct 2015, then these documents dont matter for s21 purposes. If it was after that date, you will need to find a copy of the gas cert that was in place when they moved in. You would then serve that plus the EPC, (which you’d have to commission) and a copy of How to Rent to the tenant. The following day you would serve a new s21 notice. This all has to be before the end of this month.
If you can’t find the gas cert, then thats a problem you cant fix and no s21 would be valid. You would just keep you fingers crossed that the tenant moves out.
You didn’t mention any tenancy deposit. Is that all OK?
Hi David
Thanks so much for your reply. The latest tenancy agreement was pre 2015 (tenant moved in 2008).
Therefore would we still be able to use the existing served S21 which expires in May… or would we still need to obtain an EPC and send the how to rent guide, then re-issue the S21? We have all the latest gas certs - Its the early years ones we dont have.
Do you think accelerated possession is still an option for us? Is it worth taking a punt or does the judge generally throw out if docs are missing?
You need an EPC to sell the property so might as well get that done anyway. It’s around £50-70 so won’t break the bank.
Edited to add that if S21 turns out to be problematic, you might want to consider that after 1st May, you can give 4 months’ notice that you intend to sell the property under Ground 1A (selling property) and serve a S8. That’s a mandatory ground so you’ll be able to apply for guaranteed possession around September.
The notice period will end in september. If tenants dont leave getting possession will take much longer. Ground 1a is a mandatory ground but still needs a court hearing so the usual delays still apply.
If it’s “much longer” than an S21 in progress and you need to return to court after your first hearing fails when the judge decides the paperwork isn’t right, then fair enough. Otherwise, as I said, it’s an option.
I agree its a good option and good advice. I was meaning if it needs to be used the landlord is likely to have to wait longer than september to get possession under s8 ground 1a. If s21 fails the the s8 1a is only option.
“Landlords have been required to serve gas safety records to new tenants before they move in to ensure valid Section 21 eviction, for all assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) granted on or after 1 October 2015”
As your tenancy began in 2008 you can’t be expected to have served a GSR before then as it wasnt actually a requirement at the time. So not having served a GSR before the tenancy began in 2008 shouldn’t be an issue
Same point may well apply re the ‘How to rent’ guide which also.only became mandatory for new tenancies from 2015.
thanks - do you think I should serve a “How to rent” aswell now, as well as a copy of the EPC once done… I held off contacting the tenant as we had issued the S21 ?
@Kathleen9 won’t do any harm to give them copies of everything ( even tho not actually needed if the tenancy agreement started in 2008.) - stops them wrongly claiming the s21 not valid because these weren’t served.
Even the epc may not be needed depending exactly when the tenancy started
“EPCs became legally mandatory for landlords in England and Wales to provide to prospective tenants when a new tenancy was granted or a property was marketed for rent from October 1, 2008.”
So may be that your s21 without epc gsr or how to rent served before tenancy is actually totally fine if it started before 1 Oct 2008, and nothing to do except explain this if needed to tenant judge etc
However a new valid s21 with all the right docs will not do any harm
Thanks for confirming that the most recent tenancy was pre Oct 2015. This means that the GSC, EPC and How to Rent are not required for a s21 notice. You should emphasise this in your court papers and quote the relevant section from the Deregulation Act in case you get a judge that doesnt remember this. As long as your s21 notice is otherwise valid, (and you can use the s21 flowchart on the nearly legal website to check that), you dont need to serve another s21 notice.
