The ban on evictions, brought in as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, is due to end on 31 May 2021. Here Victoria Scott, Associate looks at the latest developments in Landlords power to evict their tenants.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a ban on evictions. In the majority of cases, this has meant that Landlord’s have been unable to enforce possession orders, meaning that they have been unable to secure vacant possession of their properties.
There have been some exceptions to the ban on eviction, including where there are significant rental arrears (at least the value of 6 months rent) and where a possession order has been made on grounds relating to anti-social behaviour.
However, the ban on evictions is due to end on 31 May 2021, meaning that evictions can resume again.
For Landlords who have already secured an Order for Possession (an order which requires tenants to vacate by a certain date), this will mean that requests for Warrant of Possessions will now be dealt with. Following a request for a Warrant of Possession, an appointment is made for a Bailiff to attend a property in order to secure vacant possession of the property.
Where evictions take place, tenants must be given 14 days’ notice of the eviction. We can therefore expect evictions to resume again from mid-June. There will however be circumstances where evictions cannot go ahead, including where a tenant has Covid-19 symptoms or where a tenant is self-isolating.
Notices
Another change which will come into force from 1 June 2021 relates to the length of notice a landlord has to give to tenants when seeking possession of a property.
In response to Covid-19, the notice periods were increased. Currently this means that a landlord must give 6 months’ notice when serving a Section 21 notice and Section 8 notice (noting there are some exceptions where Section 8 notices are concerned which can mean that shorter notice periods are appropriate- including but not limited to where rent arrears are at least the value of six months’ rent and anti-social behaviour). This is compared to the ‘pre-covid’ position where 2 months’ notice was required for a Section 21 notice and where 2 weeks’ notice could be given for a Section 8 notice which relied upon rental arrears.
From 1st June 2021:
- Where 6 months’ notice is currently required, Landlords will be required to give 4 months’ notice (including Section 21 and Section 8 notice).
- Where a Section 8 notice relies upon rental arrears in excess of the value of 4 months’ rent, Landlords will be required to give 4 weeks’ notice
Different time limits apply in other situations, i.e. where anti-social behaviour is concerned and where a tenant has died (by way of examples).
From 1st August 2021, there will be a further change for those Landlords serving Section 8 notices where the rental arrears are less than the value of 4 months’ rent. This will require Landlords to give 2 months’ notice instead of the 4 months’ required from 1st June 2021.
It is currently anticipated that all notice periods will return to the ‘pre covid’ position by 1 October 2021.
Here to help
Jefferies’ Property Law team are able to offer specialist advice on eviction notices for both tenants and landlords. For further information, please call 01702 332 311 or contact conveyancinglaw@jefferieslaw.co.uk
The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.