The emergency measures introduced as part of the Coronavirus Act 2020 requiring landlords to provide longer notice periods when seeking possession of residential property will come to an end on 30 September 2021. Notice periods will return to their pre-COVID lengths from 1 October 2021.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said returning notice periods to their pre-COVID lengths from 1 October will allow landlords to repossess their property where necessary.

However, they will retain the power to implement restrictions again in the case that the public health situation worsens.  This does not change MHCLG’s position that notice periods should return to their pre-COVID lengths from 1 October 2021, but does provide flexibility to impose longer periods of notice if necessary.  These measures will only apply to England. 

To implement this, a Statutory Instrument (SI) will today be laid. This SI:

1. returns notice periods for residential tenancies to their pre-COVID lengths from 1 October 2021.

2. retains the ability to reapply longer notice periods until 25 March 2022 as a backstop should the future public health situation warrant a further extension.

3. updates the prescribed forms that landlords are required to use to reflect the return to pre-COVID lengths. MHCLG have redesigned and simplified these forms to make them more accessible for tenants.

Landlord, tenant and local authority renting guidance and court guidance will be updated ahead of 1 October to reflect that notice periods will be reverting to their pre-COVID lengths.