New regulations affecting landlords and tenants come into effect

New regulations governing the use of section 21 eviction notices and specifying the information landlords must provide to tenants came into effect on 1 October.

Landlords must provide tenants with the following information at the start of the tenancy or as soon as possible afterwards:

• a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate for the property
• a copy of the current gas safety certificate
• a copy of the Department for Communities and Local Government’s How to Rent: the checklist for renting in England.

This information must be provided before a section 21 no fault possession notice can be used.

The regulations currently apply to new tenancies dating from 1 October 2015 and will apply to all tenancies from October 2018.

The full title of the regulations is: The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015 No. 1646).

Please contact Janice Young if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of commercial property law.