Section 21 case study - let this be a lesson!

In a recent court case,  Assured Property Services Ltd v Ooo, the landlord had attended court seeking an accelerated possession after having served a Section 21. He was in no way concerned as the Section 21 had been hand delivered, the two months had expired and the tenants were still in-situ. He was not seeking payment of any rent arrears, simply to regain possession of his property.

At court the tenant advised the judge that he felt the landlord was not able to serve a Section 21 as he had not been issued with a gas safety certificate at the start of the tenancy. The landlord admitted that is was simply an administrative slip up and the tenant was given a copy of the certificate at a later date.

The court decided that because the gas safety certificate had not been provided at the outset and because the landlord admitted his mistake, the landlord could not then serve a Section 21 to claim possession of his property. This meant that as long as the tenant paid their rent and did not breach any of the terms of the tenancy, the landlord would be unable to evict them.

It is well known that landlords have a legal obligation to provide a gas safety certificate every year but not all landlords understand that it needs to be given 'before that tenant occupies those premises'

This case makes it clear how important it is that landlords and agents need to be able to prove when and how documents were given to tenants. It would be suggested that the tenants sign or initial to say that the relevant paperwork has been received before the keys are handed over. 

So, what happens if you are in this situation now? Maybe you handed over the keys and know the gas certificate was provided at a later date or for some reason the tenants were never given a copy. In short, it puts you in a difficult position. If the tenants have make indications that they wish to move out, this could be encouraged! If this isn't the case you may want to let sleeping dogs lie. However if you need the property back and know you may hit problems in court it may be worth negotiating a tenancy surrender with a financial sweetener for the tenants - this is still most likely to be cheaper that the potential court costs. If the tenant is in arrears you can still use the Section 8 as this is not affected by the legislation, just make sure it is served correctly!