We think it is safe to say that all of us will remember 2020, some of us not so fondly and others just as something to try and forget! But we have now (nearly) reached the end of the year and so it is probably a good opportunity to have a brief look back at some of the very important Legal Updates produced in the past 12 months and which are worthy of a reminder.

In January we announced the draft new Regulations making electrical testing mandatory from July 2020 for new tenancies (for all tenancies from April 2021), and which became law in June 2020.

In March we saw nationwide suspensions on all possession actions, initially for 90 days but extended to 6 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was then followed by changes to the notice periods for possession notices not once, but twice!

In May we announced confirmation by the Supreme Court the long-awaited (but expected) and very important decision of the Court of Appeal in Duval relating to consents and absolute prohibitions in long leases and which has hopefully resulted in an implementation by you all of new procedures when consents are requested of you/your clients.

In June we confirmed that the Court of Appeal in Trecarrell House Limited -v- Patricia Rouncefield [2020] EWCA Civ 76 had restored common sense and confirmed that late service of gas safety certificate does not prevent a landlord serving a Section 21 Notice to terminate and assured shorthold tenancy.

In September, and by then some 6 months into the Covid-19 period, we updated you all on the position in relation to how and when you might enforce recovery of service charges in the present climate. Advice which dispelled some of the misunderstandings about what Landlords, RTMs and RMCs can and cannot do under the various Covid-19 restrictions and resulting problems. The information in that update applies equally today.

In October we saw further delays with evictions as the tier system was introduced, followed by a complete ban as the country went into a second lockdown, with most evictions now not taking place until after 11 January 2021

In November we proudly announced that the new KDL Law website had gone live and introduced you to the search facility enabling access to all of the past three years worth of Legal Updates which means that at any time you can find guidance on questions that you or your clients may have and with just a few clicks on your computer or phone.

Finally, in December we saw the welcomed announcement from Government that EWS1 forms are not required for buildings without cladding.

Those are of course just some ‘highlights’ from what can only be described as a most interesting year.

As always if you have a topic relevant to residential tenancies or block and estate management that you would like to see us cover in 2021 then do send an email to info@kdllaw.com and we will do our very best to cover that for you.

We hope that you have all coped during 2020 and that hopefully 2021 will bring all of you a fruitful change to this past year.

Disclaimer

This legal update is provided free of charge for information purposes only; it does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. No responsibility for the accuracy and/or correctness of the information and commentary set out in the article, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed or accepted by any member of KDL Law or by KDL Law as a whole.

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