Coronavirus ban on tenant evictions extended

The ban on private tenant evictions introduced because of the coronavirus pandemic has been extended by a further four weeks to 20th September 2020. This brings the overall moratorium to almost six months.

From that date, assuming that there is no further extension, landlords can again take court action to repossess a rented home.

Letting agents and property professionals expect that it will lead to a surge in the number of evictions, which could take up over a year to clear. The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) believes there could be a backlog of 60,000 cases.

“We have previously expressed our concern to the government that there could be as many as 62,000 ‘business as usual’ landlord possession claims to be processed across England and Wales so having clarity on when these can be handled is extremely encouraging for landlords and the sector.”

Further still, the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed that the eviction notice period for possession claims (which were two months for s21 possession claims and two weeks for s8 possession claims) will be six months in order to protect renters.

We await further details about the legislation and how long these further changes are expected to last imminently.

Please contact Holly Baker if you would like advice about residential possession proceedings or any advice in relation to landlord/tenant matters.