Round #1107

Tenancy began 12 June 2023 on a 12-month fixed term; rolled periodic in June 2024; landlord served a Form 6A Section 21 on 8 April 2025 expiring 9 June 2025. The How to Rent guide given at sign-up was the January 2020 edition (current edition at service of notice was March 2023). Does the outdated How to Rent guide invalidate the Section 21?

# Section 21 Validity Analysis: Outdated How to Rent Guide ## The Core Legal Question Whether serving an **outdated edition** of the How to Rent guide at tenancy commencement invalidates a later Section 21 notice. --- ## Relevant Legal Framework ### The Statutory Requirement **Deregulation Act 2015, s.38** and **The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1646), reg.2** require the landlord to have given the tenant: > *"a copy of the current version of the document entitled 'How to Rent: the checklist for renting in England' published by the Department for Communities and Local Government"* before serving a valid Section 21 notice. --- ## The Critical Distinction ### When Must the "Current" Version Be Provided? The regulations require the **current version at the time it is given** — which is **at the start of the tenancy** (or on renewal creating a new tenancy). | Event | Date | Edition Available | |---|---|---| | Tenancy commencement | 12 June 2023 | **March 2023** was current | | Edition actually given | 12 June 2023 | **January 2020** (outdated) | | Section 21 served | 8 April 2025 | — | The **January 2020 edition was superseded** by the March 2023 edition **before** the tenancy began. The landlord therefore gave an edition that was **already out of date at the point of service**. --- ## Does Rolling Periodic Change Anything? This is a **statutory periodic tenancy** arising under **s.5 Housing Act 1988** — it is a **continuation of the original tenancy**, not a new tenancy. This means: - There is **no fresh obligation** to re-serve the How to Rent guide on the periodic roll - But equally, the landlord **cannot rely on re-service** at the periodic stage to cure the original defect - The obligation must have been satisfied **at or before the fixed-term commencement** --- ## The Answer: **Yes — the Section 21 is Very Likely Invalid** ### Reasoning **1. The wrong edition was given at the outset** The March 2023 edition was published and current before 12 June 2023. The January 2020 edition was demonstrably outdated. The statutory requirement is to provide the *current* version — this was not done. **2. The defect cannot be cured retrospectively** Unlike some prescribed requirements (e.g., EPC, gas safety), the How to Rent guide **cannot simply be re-served** to cure a defect after the tenancy has begun, because: - The periodic tenancy is not a *new* tenancy requiring fresh compliance - There is no mechanism in the regulations for retrospective cure mid-tenancy **3. Case law and court guidance support this** Courts have consistently held that failure to provide the **correct, current edition** is a bar to serving Section 21. The **version matters** — an outdated edition does not satisfy the requirement even if a guide was technically handed over. **4. Prescribed Requirements Regulations are a hard bar** Section 21(1B) Housing Act 1988 (as amended) provides that a Section 21 notice **cannot be given** where the landlord has failed to comply with prescribed requirements. This is not a discretionary matter. --- ## Practical Consequences | Issue | Position | |---|---| | Section 21 validity | **Invalid — prescribed requirement not met** | | Can landlord re-serve? | **Yes**, but only after correctly providing the current How to Rent guide — though the periodic tenancy complicates this | | Alternative route | Landlord could consider **Section 8** grounds if rent arrears or other grounds exist | | Tenant's position | Strong defence to any possession claim under this notice | --- ## Important Caveats > ⚠️ **This is legal analysis, not legal advice.** The tenant should obtain advice from **Shelter, a housing solicitor, or a law centre**. The landlord should seek urgent advice before proceeding to a possession claim, as issuing on an invalid notice wastes court fees and time. Specific facts (e.g., whether an updated guide was ever later provided) could affect the outcome. --- ## Summary **The outdated How to Rent guide (January 2020 given when March 2023 was current) almost certainly invalidates the Section 21 notice.** The prescribed requirement was not properly satisfied at tenancy commencement, the periodic tenancy does not create a new opportunity to cure this, and the Section 21 therefore cannot lawfully be served.

## Answer **Yes, the outdated How to Rent guide very likely invalidates this Section 21 notice.** --- ### The Legal Framework Under the **Deregulation Act 2015, s.38** and **The Assured Shorthold Tenancies (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1646)**, a landlord cannot serve a valid Section 21 notice unless, before doing so, they have provided the tenant with: - The current version of the **How to Rent guide** at the time it was given (reg. 3), and - The guide must have been provided **at the start of the tenancy** or when a **new version is published** during the tenancy. --- ### Applying the Facts | Factor | Detail | |---|---| | Tenancy start | 12 June 2023 | | Edition given at sign-up | January 2020 | | Current edition at sign-up | **March 2023** | | Section 21 served | 8 April 2025 | | Current edition at service | March 2023 | The **January 2020 edition was already out of date on 12 June 2023** when the tenancy began. The current edition then was **March 2023**. The landlord therefore failed the prescribed-requirements condition at the very point of tenancy commencement. --- ### The Critical Point — Can It Be Remedied? This is the key legal question. The position is: 1. **Where the tenancy is still within the original fixed term**, the landlord can serve the correct edition before issuing the Section 21 and cure the defect (*Trecarrell House Ltd v Rouncefield* [2020] EWCA Civ 760 — this case concerned gas safety certificates but the Court of Appeal confirmed a **cure-before-notice** principle applies to most prescribed requirements). 2. **However, the How to Rent guide is treated differently from gas safety certificates by the courts.** The Regulations require the guide to be provided at the **commencement of the tenancy**. There is authority (and strong county court practice following *Trecarrell* analysis) suggesting that **re-serving the correct edition before the Section 21 can cure the defect**, provided the landlord does so and then waits no fixed additional period before re-serving the notice. 3. **But there is a counter-argument** that has succeeded in county courts: where the wrong edition was given at the outset, it was never validly served "at the start" and late service cannot retrospectively satisfy that condition for the same tenancy period — particularly on a periodic tenancy that has rolled. --- ### The Periodic Tenancy Dimension The tenancy **rolled to a statutory periodic tenancy in June 2024**. On strict analysis, a statutory periodic tenancy is a **new tenancy** for the purposes of the Housing Act 1988. This means: - The prescribed requirements obligations **reset** at rollover. - The landlord had an obligation — again — to provide the **then-current edition** (March 2023) at the start of the periodic tenancy in June 2024. - If they did not, the defect persists into the periodic tenancy independently of the original fixed-term failure. There is no evidence on the facts that the landlord re-served any edition at rollover. --- ### Conclusion The Section 21 served on **8 April 2025 is invalid** on the current facts because: 1. The wrong edition (Jan 2020) was provided at tenancy commencement when March 2023 was already current. 2. No re-service of the correct guide is evidenced at rollover to the periodic tenancy in June 2024. 3. No cure before the notice appears to have occurred. The landlord's **only viable route** now is to serve the current edition of the How to Rent guide, then re-serve a **fresh Form 6A**, giving proper notice expiring on the last day of a period of the tenancy (here, a monthly period ending 11th of the month), and ensuring the notice is served within the **4-month window** before the expiry date (as required post-Deregulation Act for periodic tenancies). The existing notice dated 8 April 2025 should be treated as a nullity.