Time is of the Essence
The phrase “time is of the essence” is familiar in the English language and relied upon within the legal profession. Created under English common law where a contract specified a completion date or performance deadline, the premise exists today.
By the 19th Century there were 3 key principles:
Time would be essential if stated in a contract
Time sensitivity would be implied
Time sensitivity would required by serving reasonable notice
The Renters’ Rights Act & Time Sensitivity
As Phase 1 of the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act approaches, letting agents, landlords, legal firms, stakeholders and suppliers will need to be aware of certain elements of the Act where time will be of the essence.
1. Service of the Written Statement of Information - Landlords will be required to ensure that all existing tenants receive the Written Statement by the 31st May 2025. All tenancy agreements will automatically become rolling tenancies on this date, however, tenants must be made aware of the changes to their tenancy.
2. Rent Increases via Section 13 (Form 4A) - The only mechanism to increase rent from the 1st May 2026, will be via Section 13, giving the tenant no less than 2 months notice in line with an anniversary date or rent date.
3. Service of notice by tenants - Tenants will, under the RRA 2025, be required to serve notice in writing in line withe anniversary date / rent period. Therefore, tenants must not miss the window of opportunity as time will be of the essence.
4. Restrictions under Grounds 1 and 1A of Section 8 - These Grounds will have restrictions in place for all New tenancies starting on or after the 1st May 2026. The section 8 notice under these grounds can only be served after the first 8 months have passed, with a 4 month notice period. However, the notice must expire after the first 12 months of tenancy have passed.
5. Mandatory Ground 8 of Section 8 - This ground relates to rent arrears and in order for the ground to be used, the tenant must be 3 monthly payments in arrears. The notice period for this ground will be 4 weeks and therefore, once again, time will be of the essence.
6. Awaab’s Law - The implementation date has yet to be announced, however, the guidance published for local authorities shows the importance of adhering to time-frames and making sure that landlords understand the implications of failing to comply.
Implement Strict Processes
There are many time sensitive processes that exist within property related legislation and therefore, it is is common for letting agents to rely on PropTech to adhere to strict processes and avoid penalties for non-compliance.