Round #1136

On 14 March 2025 my landlord handed me a one-page note saying "vacate by 14 May 2025"; the AST started 1 September 2023 and rolled to a statutory periodic in September 2024, rent paid monthly on the 5th. The note is not on Form 6A. Can a court accept this as a valid Section 21 notice if the landlord later issues accelerated possession proceedings?

# Analysis of the Section 21 Notice Validity ## Short Answer **No. This notice is almost certainly invalid, and a court should reject it.** There are multiple, independently fatal defects. Here is the full legal analysis. --- ## 1. The Form 6A Requirement Is Mandatory ### The Legal Basis - **Rule 55.23(1), Civil Procedure Rules** and **Article 3, Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/620)** prescribe Form 6A as the required form for any Section 21 notice served in England **on or after 1 October 2015**. - A handwritten or informal note does **not** satisfy this requirement. ### Why This Is Fatal on Its Own The prescribed form is not a technicality — it contains mandatory information boxes including: - The **"How to Respond"** guidance for tenants - Confirmation that the landlord has complied with pre-conditions (deposit protection, EPC, gas safety certificate, How to Rent guide) - The correct statutory warning language A court exercising the **accelerated possession procedure (Part 55, Section III CPR)** proceeds **entirely on the papers** with no oral hearing. The court officer reviewing the claim will check that Form 6A was used. Without it, the claim **must be rejected or struck out**. > **Key case:** *Trecarrell House Ltd v Rouncefield* [2020] EWCA Civ 840 — while concerning gas safety certificates rather than form, the Court of Appeal confirmed the pre-conditions regime is strictly applied. --- ## 2. Notice Period — Independent Defect ### Minimum Required Period For a **statutory periodic tenancy** where rent is paid monthly, Section 21(4)(a) Housing Act 1988 (as amended) requires that the notice period must: 1. **Expire on the last day of a period of the tenancy**, AND 2. Give **at least two months' notice** ### Applying the Facts | Element | Detail | |---|---| | Notice served | 14 March 2025 | | Rent day | 5th of each month | | Current period running | 5 March – 4 April 2025 | | Earliest valid expiry date | Last day of a period at least 2 months after service, i.e., **4 June 2025** (end of the period 5 May – 4 June 2025) | | Notice states | 14 May 2025 | **14 May 2025 is not the last day of a rental period** (which runs 5th to 4th), and it falls short of the minimum two-month period calculated from a period-end. The correct earliest date would be **4 June 2025**. This is a **second independently fatal defect**. --- ## 3. Pre-Condition Compliance — Must Also Be Verified Before any Section 21 notice can be valid, the landlord must have complied with all of the following. **The burden of proof is on the landlord:** | Requirement | Statutory/Regulatory Source | |---|---| | Deposit protected + prescribed information served within 30 days | s.213 Housing Act 2004; *Superstrike Ltd v Rodrigues* [2013] | | Current Gas Safety Certificate served **before tenant moved in** and annually | Reg. 36(6) Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998; *Trecarrell* | | Energy Performance Certificate provided | reg. 6(5) Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 | | "How to Rent" guide (current version) served | s.21(1B) Housing Act 1988; Deregulation Act 2015 | | No improvement/prohibition notice served by council in last 6 months | s.33-40 Deregulation Act 2015 | | Landlord not in breach of licensing requirements (if HMO or selective licensing area) | s.40 Deregulation Act 2015 | Failure on **any single one** of these independently invalidates the Section 21 notice. The informal note contains no confirmation of compliance. --- ## 4. The Two-Month "Savings" Point — Does Not Assist Here Some landlords argue that even if form is wrong, the **two-month notice period was given in substance**. This argument **fails** because: 1. The notice period itself is incorrectly calculated (see section 2 above — it expires mid-period) 2. The Form 6A requirement is **not curable** by substantial compliance — the prescribed form is mandatory by secondary legislation 3. The accelerated procedure **requires the notice to be in prescribed form** (CPR 55.23(1)(c)) — there is no discretion --- ## 5. What Happens in Court ### Accelerated Possession Claim (CPR Part 55, Section III) 1. Landlord files N5B claim form, attaches the notice 2. Court officer reviews on paper 3. **The notice is not on Form 6A** → claim is **defective on its face** 4. Court will either: (a) return papers as rejected, or (b) issue unless order; tenant files defence pointing to the defects 5. If a judge considers it, the judge **must dismiss** the claim — possession under s.21 is mandatory *only if* the notice is valid; an invalid notice gives the court **no jurisdiction** to make the order ### Standard Possession (Part 55, Section I) If the landlord switched to a standard oral hearing claim, the same arguments apply — the notice is still invalid and the court has no power to grant possession on it. --- ## 6. Practical Steps You Should Take 1. **Do not vacate on 14 May 2025** — you are under no legal obligation to do so on the basis of this notice 2. **Write to your landlord** (recorded/email for evidence) stating the notice is invalid and does not comply with Form 6A or the required notice period 3. **Check all pre-conditions** — request evidence of deposit protection, gas safety etc. if not already held 4. **If possession proceedings are issued**, file a defence immediately identifying: - Wrong form (not Form 6A) - Incorrect/insufficient notice period - Any unmet pre-conditions 5. **Seek advice** from Shelter, Citizens Advice, or a housing solicitor 6. **Note the 4-month validity window**: a valid Section 21 notice must be acted upon within **4 months** of expiry (s.21(4D) HA 1988) — if the landlord later serves a valid notice, this clock will start running --- ## Summary of Defects | Defect | Effect | Curable? | |---|---|---| | Not on Form 6A | Facially invalid | **No** — must re-serve correctly | | Expiry date wrong (mid-period, possibly short) | Independently invalid | **No** — must re-serve | | Pre-condition compliance unverifiable | Potentially invalid | Only by proving compliance existed at date of service | **The landlord would need to serve a fresh, correct Form 6A notice, with a properly calculated expiry date, and demonstrate all pre-conditions were met.** The earliest a correctly served fresh notice could expire (if served today) would be the last day of a rental period falling at least two months after service. --- *This analysis is based on the law of England and Wales as at March 2025. It is legal information, not legal advice. You should consult a qualified housing solicitor or contact Shelter (0808 800 4444) for advice specific to your circumstances.*

**No. The notice is invalid and a court cannot accept it as a valid Section 21 notice.** Here is the precise legal analysis: --- **Form 6A is mandatory, not optional** Section 21(1) and (4) of the Housing Act 1988, as amended by the Deregulation Act 2015, together with the Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/620), prescribe Form 6A as the **required form** for all Section 21 notices given on or after 1 October 2015 for tenancies in England. Your tenancy started September 2023, so it is fully within scope. A one-page informal note does not satisfy this requirement and **cannot be cured or substituted**. --- **Additional validity issues on the facts given** Even if form were set aside, the notice likely fails on multiple further grounds: | Issue | Rule | Problem on your facts | |---|---|---| | Minimum notice period | s.21(4B) HA 1988 | Must be at least 2 months. 14 March → 14 May is exactly 2 months, but see the rent period point below | | Expiry must align with rent period | s.21(4)(a) HA 1988 (periodic tenancy) | Rent is due on the 5th; the notice period must end on the **4th of a month** (the day before rent falls due). 14 May does not satisfy this | | Prescribed Information | Assured Tenancies (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2015 | If your deposit was taken and PI was not correctly served, the notice is barred entirely under s.215 HA 2004 | | How to Rent guide | s.21(1)(b) HA 1988 & reg.3 of the 2015 Regs | If the current guide was not provided at the start of the tenancy (or on re-letting), the notice is barred | | EPC and gas safety certificate | Reg. 2, Deregulation Act 2015 (Assured Tenancies) Regulations 2015 | Non-service of either before the tenancy began bars the notice | --- **Accelerated possession proceedings (CPR Part 55, Section III)** Under CPR r.55.12–55.19, the accelerated possession claim form (N5B) requires the claimant to file the **original or a copy of a valid Section 21 notice** and confirm it complies with statutory requirements. A district judge reviews the papers without a hearing and **must dismiss the claim** if the notice is defective on its face (CPR r.55.17(1)). An informal note would fail at that paper stage. --- **What you should do** 1. Do not vacate on 14 May 2025 — you have no legal obligation to do so. 2. Write to your landlord noting the notice is invalid and that you require a Form 6A notice served correctly. 3. Check your deposit protection status now; if PI was not served, the landlord cannot serve a valid s.21 notice at all until the deposit is returned. 4. If court proceedings are issued, file a defence (Form N11B) asserting invalidity of the notice. You cannot be lawfully evicted without either a valid s.21 notice followed by a possession order, or a s.8 notice establishing a separate ground.