As of the 28th August 2020, the Government have introduced new temporary Covid legislation, which rules that Landlords must provide a minimum of 6 months’ notice to a Tenant, before they can seek possession of the property.
New Tenants
Where a new tenant is moving into a property, notice cannot be served during the first four months, meaning that whilst a 6-month tenancy can still be agreed; effectively the current minimum tenancy is actually 10 months. The four-month restriction does not apply to renewal tenancies, only the original tenancy when a tenant first moves in.
Landlords also need to be aware of this change in notice period may affect any break clauses currently in place.
This is meant to be a temporary measure from the government until March 2021 and will be reviewed then.