Changes to Eviction Rules Due to The Covid-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a global economic recession through its lockdowns. While employment and incomes have plummeted, expenses and costs have remained constant. This has put tenants in an extremely precarious situation. They have to pay rent without a reliable income stream. Read on to see what buffers the government has put in place to help tenants.

Rent Arrangements

The most popular rent arrangement in the UK is Assured Shorthold Tenancy. These are arrangements where the tenant occupies the leased property as their sole house. These tenancies have a fixed end-date. This is in contrast to periodic tenancies, which continue indefinitely until either the tenant or the landlord gives notice to end it. The UK government has made accommodations for these and more arrangements in the Coronavirus Act 2020.

Pandemic Accommodations

The government announced a suspension of eviction and repossession proceedings against residential tenants until 30^th September. The government announced this on 26^th March for 90 days. However, they extended the suspension to 23^rd August. This applies to all current proceedings. Effectively, this prevents any evictions until 23^rd August.

Secondly, the government has extended the notice period for evictions. Initially, if a landlord wanted to repossess their property, they had to provide a notice of intent two months in advance. Eviction proceedings would begin after the two months. Landlords that issued a notice using section 8 of the Housing Act of 1988 were required to give at least a 2-week notice period. Section 8 of the aforementioned act has scope over eviction proceedings that are initiated because a tenant violated some term(s) of the tenancy contract. The government has extended the notice period for all of these eviction proceedings to 3 months.

If, however, you’re facing tenancy issues, get in touch with Wembley Solicitors. They’re tenancy solicitors located in Middlesex, UK. They offer affordable legal services for both tenants and landlords.