Covid notice?

brooke68

diggingdude said:

you need to be preparing to move, dragging things out is usually unnecessary agro. That being said if you dont want people viewing there is nothing they can do to force.  If there is a health risk as you say there is no way anyone would be viewing where that person lived in my mind.  If you are refused a reference explain to new landlords the health risks being why and cross fingers 

We have started looking. We’ve been here for six and a half years though and it’s home so it’s going to be a sad process.

saajan_12

brooke68 said:

AdrianC said:

brooke68 said:

AdrianC said:

brooke68 said:

Can the notice period be changed once written notice has been served?

The period wouldn't be changed on your existing notice.
They would simply issue you new s21 notice, two months from the date of the new notice.

Which really equates to the same thing.

No, not really...

s21 issued mid-March. Expires mid-September.
Notice period changes today from 6mo to 2mo.

If the period is changed on the existing notice, that notice now expires mid-May.
If new notice is issued, that notice expires early-mid July.

That's a world of difference...

What I meant was, as a tenant, you think you’ll have a certain period to find a new home then suddenly that is ripped out from under you and you actually have far less time than you were originally told. I wasn’t referring to specific dates.
Our notice was served on the 29th April, we currently have until 29th October to find somewhere (not easy, we live in a rural area). If the rules change in June 1st, we could potentially be looking at a new notice period, expiring on August 1st. That would give us practically three months less to move. Now THAT is a world of difference.

Any notice doesn't give a minimum period of security - tenant or LL could always serve other notices during the S21 period, if they were valid independently of the S21 timeline (eg if you found a place earlier, or if there were rent arrears etc). If you didn't have the 6 month notice, and the rules changed to 2 months (ie the gvt thought this was sufficient time to find somewhere) then you could be served a 2 month S21 notice any time, giving that long (plus the court process) to find alternative accomodation. The You could see the 6 month as just a heads up allowing you to start looking earlier.