I have a tenanted property and used the Openrent AST template so landlord needs to give 2 months notice and tenant needs to give 1 months notice.
What is the best way of giving such notice to tenant, is an email ok?
You need to give 6 months notice. You would issue a section 21 notice which you can do by email.
Does anyone know anything about this âGround Oneâ which seems to fit.
An Alternative to Using Section 21
If you are renting out your own home â either somewhere you have lived in the past, or somewhere you intend to live in the future (e.g. as a retirement home) â you may want to consider using âground oneâ.
This is a mandatory ground for possession under the Housing Act, but you need to have served a notice on the tenant at the start of the tenancy warning your tenants that you may be using it.
Provided you have done that, you donât need to worry too much about the myriad complexities of section 21.
This depends upon the terms and conditions of contract
Itâs usually post or by hand ( do it on two consecutive days and get proof of postage each time)
You can email if you have a clause dictating so
Again send it twice
There are two types of eviction
Section 21 is a no reason form for discharge
Section 8 requires a reason. Ground one refers to Section 8 and is the first clause ( there are mandatory and not mandatory clauses as reasons for evictions)
Serve both
Serve the correct forms otherwise youâll get it thrown out of court and get a sollicitor if you are not familiar with the process
Serving the wrong form or incorrect completion will mean you go to the back of the queue after waiting 6 months to serve it in the first place
If you do post it do not send it recorded delivery as the tenant may not sign it
Just send it first class with proof of postage and keep receipt and send on two consecutive days ( the tenants dog often eats the mail in these situations. Itâs unlikely to eat it twice!)
Only email if your contract permits it
2 Likes
Did you serve notice on the tenant prior to commencement of the tenancy that the conditions for s8g1 apply and that you may at some point seek possession under that ground?
1 Like
Your best case scenario is for your tenants to happily leave on the end date of the tenancy. A certain amount of diplomacy is wise even if itâs not legally required.
What have you communicated to the tenant before the tenancy?
Did they know you intended to move into the home at the end of the AST and this wouldnât be a long-term arrangement?
If so, then most people are reasonable humans and odds are you wonât have a big issue. Consider seeking a lawyerâs help just because covid, but serving notice as you warned them you would really ought to go over fine.
If you did not tell them and this is a change of plans, then things get a bit sticky especially if you know they want this to be their long-term home. Covid is making a mess of evictions.
I would definitely consider hiring a lawyer to help make sure you get it right in light of covid. I would also consider contacting them to let them know that the situation changed and why. Run it by your lawyer first, but these are humans youâre dealing with and most humans have a heart and understand things change.
I would be fairly happy to work with a landlord who explained to me person-to-person why the situation changed. Life happens, I understand, I respect people who treat me with respect.
I would be fighting to the hilt and exercising every one of my rights if I got an eviction notice out of nowhere after we had discussed extensions and long-term.
(But run it by a lawyer so you donât accidentally say anything that hurts your case!)
As to how to serve the notice: Definitely mail it. You can also let them know by email to expect the mail, if theyâve preferred email in the past.