This article is written by Manjit Kataora, Director of Legal and Compliance at Foxtons. It outlines the government’s newly published Information Sheet for existing tenancies, along with the updated forms that take effect on 1 May. We designed this article to support our landlords by keeping you informed of the latest requirements and key changes.
Earlier this year, the government published draft regulations setting out the information requirements for tenancies entered into after 1 May this year. Despite the regulations being issued in draft form which meant they could still be varied before 1 May, those requirements effectively served as the benchmark for those eager to start drafting Assured Periodic Tenancies ahead of the reforms kicking in.
For existing tenancies, the government has just published its long-awaited Information Sheet which contains the information that landlords and letting agents must serve on their tenants whose Assured Shorthold and Assured tenancies commenced prior to 1 May.
The Information Sheet is a single document and you can find it here. Landlords and Agents must either send the sheet by printing a hard copy of it and then either posting it to each tenant named on the tenancy agreement or giving it to them by hand; or by attaching it as a pdf file to an email sent to each tenant named in the tenancy agreement. The guidance is very clear that just sending an email to tenants that contains a link to the Information Sheet will not be a compliant way to serve this information and that the fine for failure to comply with these strict rules of service is a hefty £7,000.
The Information Sheet must be served by 31 May, which gives landlords and agents one month from when the new rules enter into force, within which to take action, or risk a fine. Landlords and agents are probably wise not to delay serving this information because where a tenancy ends, say, mid-May, the temptation may be to think the information requirement no longer applies however they might instead still find themselves on the wrong side of law for having failed to serve the information during that portion of the tenancy that post-dated 1 May – a trap for the unwary perhaps.
There is no requirement to re-paper existing assured shorthold tenancy agreements. Serving this information on top of your existing assured tenancy will be sufficient to inform your tenant about the changes being brought in by the new law.
Landlords and agents wondering how best to inform tenants about the changes can simply rely on the information contained in the sheet, although many as a matter of good practice will already have been campaigning about the changes for some time.
The Information Sheet applies to agreements either wholly or partly in writing. If you have an entirely verbal assured or assured shorthold tenancy agreement with your tenant then you cannot give the Information Sheet to your tenant; instead you must provide the information contained in this guidance.
New Section 8 and Section 13 Rent increase forms
Also published are the revised Section 8 form of possession notice and the revised Section 13 rent increase notice. These forms are only effective after 1 May, so do not use them yet!
The contents of this blog are for general information purposes only and are not intended as legal advice. If you require legal advice you should consult your own solicitor.
Source: This article was prepared by Manjit Kataora, Director of Legal and Compliance at Foxtons. Manjit leads our work on emerging legislation and keeps our teams and clients updated on changes that affect London landlords. We share these updates to support landlords who want clear guidance on developments as they arise. If you have any questions about the article, email us to ask a Foxtons expert.
