Notice For Joint Tenants: One Or Two?

Regency Property Management (UK) Ltd v Aleksandrowicz & Anor [2025] EWCC 74 (CC, Luton)

This County Court decision addresses a question that arises frequently in possession work: if a tenancy is in joint names, does a landlord need separate notices for each tenant, or can a single notice suffice?

The claim ultimately failed on a different point (the judge found the property was an unlicensed HMO, so section 21 could not be relied on). But before getting there, the court dealt with an argument about how the notice was addressed and served.

The tenants' point: "to the tenant" means separate notices

The landlord served one section 21 notice naming both defendants (Marek Lech Aleksandrowicz and Marta Zarnowska).

The tenants argued that section 21(1)(b) requires notice to be given "to the tenant", and that this effectively means "to each tenant". On their case, that meant separate notices (or at least an approach to service that treated each joint tenant individually).

What District Judge Hayes decided

District Judge Hayes rejected the argument that joint tenants require separate section 21 notices.

In summary:

• The judge treated the statutory wording as capable of operating in the plural. The judgment refers to section 45(3) of the Housing Act 1988 and the general approach under the Interpretation Act 1978: singular wording can include the plural unless the context requires otherwise.
• A single notice naming both joint tenants was enough. The judge noted there was no authority supporting the tenants' proposition.
• This was really a "form/manner" argument, not a dispute about whether the notice actually reached them. The defence accepted that they had received the notice, and the judge did not accept that a single notice, served at the property and naming both joint tenants, was somehow unlikely to come to their attention.
• In this case, the notice didn't have to be delivered to their individual "room". Service was met upon delivery to the accommodation's post box.

It is only a County Court decision, so it is not binding. Still, it is a sensible answer to a point that can otherwise generate a lot of noise for no real gain.

What to do in practice

• If you serve one notice, put every joint tenant's name on it.
• Treat service evidence as non-negotiable. Keep the paperwork (certificate of posting) and, if hand-delivered, a photo and a short witness statement.
• Do not lose sight of the bigger obstacles. Here, even though the landlord succeeded on the "one notice" argument, the claim failed because the property was found to be an unlicensed HMO at the time.

The principle outlined in this case should apply to other statutory notices, such as section 8, 13 or RHW forms in Wales.