Announcement from Robert Jenrick regarding Support for Renters and the Homeless
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Announcement from Robert Jenrick regarding Support for Renters and the Homeless

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has today announced extra support to house rough sleepers across all councils in England.

  • Ban on bailiff enforced evictions extended

  • Confirmation of court support for landlords and renters and launch of mediation pilot

  • Backed by an additional £10 million in funding, all councils in England are being asked to redouble their efforts to help accommodate all those currently sleeping rough and ensure they are swiftly registered with a GP, where they are not already.

This will ensure they can be protected from the virus and contacted to receive vaccinations in line with the priority groups outlined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

Councils will also be asked to reach out again to those who have previously refused help, given rising infection rates and the colder winter months.

Renters will continue to be supported during the new national restrictions, with an extension to the ban on bailiff evictions for all but the most egregious cases for at least 6 weeks – until at least 21 February – with measures kept under review.

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Government has changed the law so most renters have a 6 month notice period
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Government has changed the law so most renters have a 6 month notice period

Last week the Government announced that notice periods for section 8 and section 21 notices would change.

This afternoon, the Government has announced that legislation has now been introduced, so landlords must now give tenants 6 months’ notice before they can evict until March 2021, except in the most serious of cases, such as incidents of anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse perpetrators.

The stay on possession proceedings has been extended until 20 September, meaning that in total no tenant can have been legally evicted for 6 months at the height of the pandemic.

The package of support for renters includes the extension of notice periods and the extension to the stay on possession proceedings. For the most egregious cases, notice periods have returned to their pre-coronavirus levels, and landlords will be able to progress serious rent arrears cases more quickly.

  • The government is also helping landlords affected by the worst cases to seek possession; these are:

    • anti-social behaviour (now 4 weeks’ notice)

    • domestic abuse (now 2 to 4 weeks’ notice)

    • false statement (now 2 to 4 weeks’ notice)

    • over 6 months’ accumulated rent arrears (now 4 weeks’ notice)

    • breach of immigration rules ‘Right to Rent’ (now 3 months’ notice)

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Urgent Information regarding Suspensions on Housing Evictions and Service of Notice
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Urgent Information regarding Suspensions on Housing Evictions and Service of Notice

After today’s announcement at 3:46pm, the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced that the Government will be extending the suspension (stay) on eviction proceedings for a further four weeks. It was anticipated that on the 24th August 2020, courts would resume possession proceedings, with the focus being on the pre-existing pre-lockdown claims for possessions and evictions that had been halted as a result of the pandemic.

On 20th September when the courts resume hearings relating to repossession, consideration and priority will be given to the most challenging of cases, prioritising those that involve anti-social behaviour, situations involving criminal activity and of course, rent arrears that have been accrued by the tenant for a significant period of time and have had an impact of the landlords financial situation.

With such an unprecedented situation that has impacted the whole country, this will mean that no tenants have been evicted since the 22nd March 2020. It is important to note that the suspension on housing repossessions also applies to mortgage lenders.

It is important to bear in mind that on the Friday 17th July as a result of the Coronavirus Act 2020, it was announced that the Civil Procedure Rules relating to possession claims would be changed and that the protocols relating to existing claims for possession requiring claimants (landlords) who intended to resume claims to “inform the court and defendant in writing via a “Reactivation Notice”. As a result of today’s announcement, it is crucial that landlords seek additional legal advice if in fact they have already advised the court and tenants of their intentions to move forward with possession claims and evictions.

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Anticipating the next stage of the Possession Claims has been Difficult
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Anticipating the next stage of the Possession Claims has been Difficult

Last week, on the Friday 17th July as a result of the Coronavirus Act 2020, it was announced that the Civil Procedure Rules relating to possession claims would be changed, however, it was only this week that those changes were announced.

The Impact of CoronavirusAfter 5 months of housing possession being suspended, the courts will re-open to hear possession claims on the 23rd August 2020, and as a result, the New Practice Direction (PD) will apply for an “interim period” from 23 August 2020 until 28 March 2021. For private landlords must now attend any court hearing with two copies of a notice which sets out exactly what they know about the effect of the coronavirus on the tenant. This notice must be sent to the tenant before the hearing. This protocol also applies to Accelerated Possession Proceedings, which means that a similar notice MUST be included. PLEASE NOTE THE N5B WILL NOT BE AMENDED TO DEAL WITH THIS CHANGE NOR WILL CLAIMANTS BE REMINDED.
Existing ClaimsThe PD 55C will separate claims into TWO groups :-

Group 1 - Claims that were issued before 3 August 2020
Group 2 - Claims issued on or after 3 August 2020.

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