Section 21 - has this been served correctly?

[Finmory]

I received a section 21 notice from my landlord today with no reason given. Unexpected but fine.

I have an assured shorthold tenancy and am not yet out of the agreed tenancy period. I've done some reading and it seems like a section 21 can't be issued until the fixed period has ended - has anyone had experience with this and can confirm if true?

I also don't have a current gas safety cert. The old one expired in September and although an engineer came out, no certificate has been issued yet. I think this might also render the section 21 invalid but not entirely sure.

I'm just reading up on all this as never been served one of these before, but if anyone has been in a similar position I'd appreciate any info!

The government gives quite a bit of info: www.gov.uk/evicting-tenants/section-21-and-section-8-notices

You need to get legal advice. The important thing is do not move out unless evicted, unless you have somewhere to go, as you must avoid making yourself intentionally homeless.

My reading is it can be issued whilst you are in the assured tenancy period, but you can't be asked to leave before the end of the assured period.

You cannot use a Section 21 notice if any of the following apply:

it’s less than 4 months since the tenancy started, or the fixed term has not ended, unless there’s a clause in the contract which allows you to do this

So you may need to check your contract.

Thanks @carefulcalculator that's really helpful. It's not entirely clear if it can be issued during the fixed term, I'm hoping not.
I don't really want to stay beyond the notice period or cause any issues as I need a good reference. I was just hoping to extend the notice period somewhat as it's terrible timing for me.
Will see if I can get some legal advice

My gas safety certificate is issued to my landlord by email (I do get copied in though).

You must be careful. Do you have children? You can start looking for a property but you may encounter issues so get informed about your legal rights before you make any commitments to your landlord. You have to put yourself first.

@carefulcalculator I don't have children and I'm sure I can find another place. It's just the stress of having to do this during a very busy time at work, and having to find somewhere decent and available at the right time.

The landlord handled this pretty horribly to be honest, a man just turned up on my doorstep and told me I was being evicted! Had to go and join a work call with no idea what was happening.

It seems you're right and they can issue the section 21 but it can't come into effect until after the fixed term.

Off to scour Rightmove!

It's not entirely clear if it can be issued during the fixed term, I'm hoping not.

I'm afraid it can be issued during the fixed term, but it can't expire until after the fixed term has ended.

nearlylegal.co.uk/section-21-flowchart/

There is a flowchart on this webpage that will take you through each component to check if your section 21 is valid.