Since the Covid 19 pandemic began in earnest, it has been a struggle for landlords to keep up with the almost constantly changing notice periods that had to be given under section 8 and section 21 notices as a result of the temporary changes made to the Housing Act 1988 by the Coronavirus Act 2020.
While generally there was recognition that residential tenants had to be afforded some additional protection because of the wide-reaching and often devastating effects of the pandemic, landlords will welcome the news that as from tomorrow, the notice periods required under sections 8 and 21 of the Housing Act 1988 will return to their pre-Covid levels. The “new” notice periods will only apply to notices served on or after 1 October 2021 and not retrospectively to any that were served before that date.
Notice periods from 1 October 2021 From 1 October 2021, notice periods will return to their pre-pandemic levels. This means that the following notice periods will apply for assured shorthold tenancies – Section 21 or Section 8 using any of grounds 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9 or 16 – two months and cannot expire before the end of the fixed term Section 8 using the rent arrears grounds (8, 10 and 11) – two weeks Section 8 using grounds 3, 4, 7b, 12, 13, 14A, 15 or 17 – two weeks Section 8 using ground 7a (anti-social behaviour with a conviction) - One calendar month Section 8 using Ground 14 (the discretionary ground for anti-social behaviour) - Immediately after the notice counts as served (usually 24 hours)
https://www.nrla.org.uk/news/possession-update-what-you-need-to-know-about-possession-from-October-2021
