Section 7 – Restrictions on giving further landlord’s notices under periodic standard contract
37.Section 7 inserts a new section 177 into the 2016 Act. The previous version of section 177 of the 2016 Act imposed a restriction on the giving of a section 173 notice where there had been a failure to comply with the security and deposit requirements of the 2016 Act. Provision about this is now made in Schedule 9A to the 2016 Act.
38.New section 177(1), (2) and (3) apply when a landlord:
has given the contract-holder a notice under section 173 of the 2016 Act (“the first section 173 notice”);
has then withdrawn the first section 173 notice; and
wants to give the contract-holder a further section 173 notice.
39.Apart from in the situation described below, the landlord cannot give the contract-holder a further section 173 notice for a period of six months. This period starts with the day on which the first section 173 notice is withdrawn. This provision is intended to prevent a landlord from giving and withdrawing a series of section 173 notices.
40.However, under section 177(3), the landlord is able to give one further section 173 notice to the contract-holder if it is given during the period of 28 days starting with the day on which the first section 173 notice was given. This provision is aimed at accommodating landlords that may have made a mistake with the first section 173 notice.
41.Section 180(3) of the 2016 Act makes further provision about the withdrawal of a section 173 notice.
42.New section 177(4) and (5) apply when a landlord has given the contract-holder a section 173 notice but the landlord has not made a possession claim based on that section 173 notice within the period for making the claim under the 2016 Act.
43.Section 179 of the 2016 Act sets out the period during which a landlord can make a claim for possession of the dwelling after giving the contract-holder a section 173 notice.
44.Under new section 177(4) and (5), if the landlord does not make the possession claim within this period, the landlord cannot give the contract-holder another section 173 notice for a period of six months. This six month period starts with the last day that the landlord could have made the possession claim under section 179(1)(b) of the 2016 Act.
