Emergency legislation affecting residential possession proceedings is to last longer than originally anticipated, as the coronavirus epidemic rumbles on. This month, Anna Pettinger outlines the changes that have been made and what they mean for landlords…
At the beginning of lockdown, the government implemented temporary laws to assist residential tenants at risk of possession proceedings, who were seriously affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. One measure was to extend statutory notice periods for landlords wishing to terminate an agreement using a Section 21 or Section 8 notice.
My tenant hasn’t paid rent since March. When will courts begin to hear eviction proceedings again?
On June 5, housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, stated: “We have provided an unprecedented package of support for renters during this pandemic. Today, I am announcing that the government’s ban on evictions will be extended for another two months. That takes the moratorium on evictions to a total of five months.
“Eviction hearings will not be heard in courts until the end of August and no one will be evicted from their home this summer due to coronavirus.”
This statement was followed five days later by the implementation of new civil procedure rules that had the effect of extending the stay on possession hearings until August 23. This meant any current or new proceedings were effectively put on hold until that date.
Clearly, this was not welcome news for many landlords with tenants in arrears, but it didn’t come as a surprise. If I can offer a glimmer of hope, it is that there doesn’t appear to be any more extensions on the horizon, but this will depend on whether we see a second wave of the virus. It is also not clear how the legislation will apply to local lockdowns.
Can I still serve a Section 21 notice on my tenant?
I have been asked by several estate agents to advise landlords on the ‘current ban’ on serving Section 21 notices. This is not actually the case.
You can still issue a Section 21 or Section 8 on tenants, but they carry notice periods of three months and two months, two weeks respectively.
I think confusion has arisen by the government stating landlords cannot recover possession of a property until August 23. This does not mean notice cannot be served on tenants, particularly this close to the cut-off date.
If your tenant is behind on their rent or you wish to obtain possession to sell your rented property, I would advise taking action as soon as possible.
Currently, the three-month notice period will be in place at least until October and we expect there to be significant delays in court possession proceedings towards the end of the year. I would not, therefore, recommend waiting any longer to serve notice, especially if your tenant is in arrears.
If you would like more information about the emergency coronavirus legislation and its impact on private landlords, don’t hesitate to email me: anna.pettinger@tayloremmet.co.uk
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