The Government has announced that the tenant eviction ban will end on 31 May 2021. This means that unless someone living in the property has Covid-19 symptoms or is self-isolating, the agent can carry out an eviction where a Possession Order has been made by the Court.
The Government has also announced that the six-month notice period that was introduced during the Covid-19 lockdown will be reduced to four months from 1 June 2021.
From 1 August 2021 notice periods for those owing less than four months’ rent will also be reduced to two months’ notice.
Other notice periods for more serious cases will remain lower. These include:
- Death of a tenant – two months’ notice
- Breach of immigration rules – two weeks’ notice
- Anti-social behaviour – up to four weeks’ notice
- Domestic abuse – two to four weeks’ notice
- False statement – two to four weeks’ notice
- Over four months’ rent owed – 4 weeks’ notice
Subject to the planned Covid-19 ‘road map’, the Government plans to reduce notice periods to pre-coronavirus levels after 30 September 2021. This would see a return to two-month notice periods for Section 21 Notices (no fault notices) which are the subject of a proposal to be abolished in a white paper due to be published in Autumn 2021.
The Ministry of Housing has said that renters will continue to be supported as coronavirus restrictions ease. There is extensive financial support to help people meet their outgoings such as the furlough scheme and the Universal Credit uplift – both have been extended until the end of September 2021.
This is a fast moving and complicated area of law and if you get it wrong you face unnecessary delays, so it is best to seek legal advice early. If you would like to discuss any points in this article further or are looking for legal advice relating to evictions, either as a landlord or as a tenant, please contact Spire Solicitors LLP on 01603 677077.
