New measures have been put in place for the protection of renters during national restrictions.
In summary these are….
• Evictions will not be enforced whilst national restrictions are in place
• Evictions will not be enforced by bailiffs until 11 January 2021 at the earliest, except for the most egregious cases such as anti-social behaviour
• Six month notice periods still in place until at least the end of March 2021, except for most serious cases
Measures, including the pause on evictions starting in December, mean evictions will not be enforced until the 11 January 2021 at the earliest, supporting individuals and families who have found themselves in financial difficulty through no fault of their own.
The only exceptions to this will be the most egregious cases, including where tenants have demonstrated anti-social behaviour or are the perpetrator of domestic abuse in social housing, and the landlord rightly would like to re-let their property to another tenant.
This builds on protections announced earlier this year, including 6 month notice periods meaning renters now served notice?can stay in their homes until May 2021, with?time?to find alternative support or accommodation.
Courts will remain open through the new national restrictions. Court rules and procedures introduced in September will ensure protections for both tenants and landlords. These include the strict prioritisation of cases, such as those involving anti-social behaviour and other crimes.
Whilst national restrictions apply, the only circumstances where protections do not apply are illegal occupation, fraud, anti-social behaviour, eviction of domestic abuse perpetrators in social housing; where a property is unoccupied following the death of a tenant. There is also the intention to introduce an exemption for extreme pre-Covid rent arrears.
For further details see https://bit.ly/3pMOGZm