The law now gives more protection to tenants who are told to move out after they ask their landlord for a repair. This action by landlords is called retaliatory eviction.
Sections 33 and 34 of the Deregulation Act 2015 came into force from 1 October 2015.
This prevents a section 21 (no fault two months’ notice to leave the property) from being served for a period of six months, if you have made a complaint about the condition of your property to your landlord, and they failed to acknowledge the problem or undertake the repairs. The disrepair needs to be verified by Portsmouth City Council, and a relevant notice will be served on your landlord.
This only applies to assured shorthold tenancies granted after 1 October 2015.
These provisions do not apply where a statutory periodic tenancy arises on or after 1 October 2015, or the end of a fixed term tenancy which was entered into before 1 October 2015.
For advice see the government’s guide how to rent, or see page 11 of the retaliatory eviction guidance for information on the complaints process.