Landlord Terminate Month To Month Lease Template for England and Wales

When you need to end a periodic tenancy in England and Wales, you must use a properly drafted Landlord Terminate Month To Month Lease notice. This statutory document, commonly known as a Section 21 notice, provides your tenants with formal notice that you wish to regain possession of your rental property. The notice must comply with strict legal requirements to be valid and enforceable in court.

When do you need this document?

You need this notice when your assured shorthold tenancy has become periodic (rolling month-to-month or week-to-week) after the initial fixed term has expired. This commonly occurs when tenants remain in the property after their original lease ends and continue paying rent. You might need to serve this notice if you want to sell the property, move back in yourself, or simply end the tenancy arrangement. The notice is also necessary if you need to increase rent beyond what your tenant will accept, as you cannot force rent increases on periodic tenancies without potentially ending the tenancy first.

Key legal considerations

Your Section 21 notice must provide at least two months' written notice and cannot expire during the first four months of the tenancy. The notice must be served in the correct form and include all required information about the landlord, tenant, and property. You cannot serve a valid Section 21 notice if you have failed to protect your tenant's deposit in a government-approved scheme or provide the required prescribed information about the deposit protection. Additionally, you must have provided your tenant with an Energy Performance Certificate, gas safety certificate, and the government's "How to Rent" guide before serving notice. Any failure to comply with these requirements will invalidate your notice.

Legal requirements in England and Wales

Under the Housing Act 1988 and Deregulation Act 2015, your notice must specify the earliest date you require possession, which cannot be earlier than two months from service date. The notice must be in writing and served using an approved method such as hand delivery, recorded post, or email if specifically agreed. You cannot serve notice within the first four months of any tenancy, and the notice cannot expire on a date earlier than the last day of a rental period. In England and Wales, you must also ensure compliance with the Tenant Fees Act 2019 regarding prohibited fees and the Housing Act 1996 regarding deposit protection. If your tenant has made a complaint about property conditions to the local authority within the last six months, additional restrictions may apply to serving Section 21 notices.