To think six month notice period is wild?

Your contractual and statutory rights are different things and give different ( but overlapping) remedies. So the fact that the contract says they can terminate quickly does not mean that they can do so fairly, just that they will not breach your contractual rights. You could still claim unfair dismissal (or discrimination etc if that is a factor) as those are statutory rights. The tribunal would expect a fair performance management, disciplinary or redundancy process ( as appropriate) to avoid a finding of unfair dismissal. As compensation for unfair dismissal is primarily calculated based on loss of earnings you tend to find that if you have not been paid for a long notice period, the value of any claim may be higher. It’s capped atm, but won’t be from Jan 2027. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t challenge the imbalance in the notice, but just to reassure you that the contract is not the be all and end all for you.

The thing is they can write whatever they like but if it isn’t legal it’s unenforceable. They have to abide by the law. If they have performance concerns they still have to follow a reasonable process before termination, irrespective of what terms they’ve written in your contract, or be faced with the possibility of an unfair dismissal claim. You can’t sign away your employment rights. I think it’s difficult to justify a six month notice period at your level. As people become more senior, organisations who want to hire them are prepared to wait three or six months or even a year.

I am an employment lawyer. Six months is not that uncommon- especially in a business which may want to protect against competition- it is easier to enforce than a restrictive covenant after termination. But the notice should be reciprocal in that case- which your’s isn’t if they can terminate your employment with 28 days PILON or widely without notice. There may also be other “tricks” in there so a check by a lawyer would be a good idea. Two other points: if the takeover was through a share purchase it’s unlikely be TUPE so you wouldn’t have extra protections. But otherwise TUPE protects your T&Cs and can mean any additional obligations eg extra restrictions including notice, could be unenforceable. In any event even if you signed the contract whether the employer would seek to enforce six months would likely depend on where you were going. As I allude above, if it’s a competitor they may insist you work or put you on garden leave to give a period where they can secure relationships etc. but if you are not, then the only loss they may have is if they incur extra recruitment costs because they have to cover you at short notice. I’ve never known an employer actually sue for this - though I’ve seen them threaten it. But they may play silly buggers over your reference so I’d get that sorted before you advise them you’re leaving or not serving full notice!

Can’t help with the legalities of this, but I do wonder if this property management company begins with the letter L, in which case you have my sympathies! I’m on the other side of the fence so so speak but since their new ownership everything there seems to have gone to hell in a hand basket.

The second appearance of "wild" in the last ten minutes. Oh god. New buzzwords 😱
It isn't wild. It may be unnecessary, unacceptable, illegal or just inconvenient but what it certainly isn't, is wild.

OP can you clarify whether you've actually signed this new contract?

I once got asked to change my notice from 1 to 3 months about 6 months after I got promoted. I was already in a place wheee they’d have to give me 3 months given how long I’d worked there, so the obvious question was “what’s in it for me”, they went away to look into it and never came back.

You can access legal advice through your household insurance

As I feared: completely asymmetrical. I am not an employment lawyer but I'm willing to bet this is not legal. You are well within your rights to push back.

Different sector, but this is the case for those working in teaching in England, as teachers in state schools are bound to the following:

Resign by 31st October to leave on 31st December
Resign by 28th February to leave on 30th April (or end of the spring term if moving to another teaching role)
Resign by 31st May to leave on 31st August

This means that if a teacher hands in their notice on 1st June, they are contractually obliged to remain at the school until 31st December. They may be able to negotiate early release from their contract, but this isn’t guaranteed, especially in shortage subject areas. There are clear and understandable reasons for the regulations, but they were written at a time when it was very rare for teachers to leave teaching to pursue an alternative career, and cause real issues for those seeking employment in a different sector as very few companies or organisations are willing to wait for a teacher to work their notice period, particularly during the summer months.