Updated Housing Act 1988 Notices
The government has passed regulations which will revoke and replace those which currently set out the statutory notices to be used as part of the Housing Act 1988 in England. This includes notices for rent increases using the s13 procedures and notices seeking possession served under s8. The amended regulations come into force on 6 April 2015 and the new notices should be used from that date.
The primary reason for doing this was to update the s8 notice and specifically the guidance notes to tenants that form part of that notice. This was required due to the new grounds for possession, grounds 7A and 14ZA, that came into force last October. The s8 notice has effectively been out of date since that points so this update was actually overdue.
It is important that landlords and those acting for them update their notices. Older notices served before the regulations came into force are fine. However, an older notice used after 6 April would be high risk especially if you were seeking to rely on one of the new grounds that are not mentioned in the older style of notice.
Notices in Wales remain unchanged as the new grounds for possession do not apply there and should be based on the original regulations with amendments made in Welsh statutory instruments.