Coming as no surprise, the Government announced last week that the current ban on evictions, due to be lifted on 21 February 2021, would be extended to 31 March 2021.

The exceptions to the ban for what the Government has called the “most egregious cases”, including in cases of substantial rent arrears, will continue as set out here.

The Housing Secretary, Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said last week:

“By extending the ban on the enforcement of evictions by bailiffs, in all but the most serious cases, we are ensuring renters remain protected during this difficult time.

Our measures strike the right balance between protecting tenants and enabling landlords to exercise their right to justice.”

Landlords who are prevented from enforcing possession orders during this time would no doubt beg to differ. This includes, for example, landlords who have obtained possession orders on no-fault Section 21 notices. The High Court has recently confirmed in the case of The Corporation of the Trinity House of Deptford Strong -v- (1) Prescott (2) Byrne (2021) EWHC 283 (Ch) that the ‘substantial rent arrears’ exception does NOT apply where possession is granted under Section 21, even if 6 months’ rent arrears (or more) are owed. For the exception to apply, possession needs to be granted under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 on rent arrears grounds (Ground 8, 10 or 11).

According to the MHCLG Press Release, applications (claims) to Court for possession by private and social landlords were down 67% between October and December 2020, compared to the same quarter in 2019. The number of repossessions (evictions) recorded October to December 2020 was down 93% compared to the same quarter in 2019.  Only 548 repossessions (evictions) were recorded between April and December 2020, which includes the period of the complete ban last year that was only lifted in September 2020, compared to 22,444 in the same period in 2019.

These are worrying statistics and, of course, are not to suggest that landlords do not wish to pursue possessions during the pandemic, meaning that the wait for County Court Bailiffs once the ban is lifted will be longer than ever seen before. In cases where possession is required urgently, consideration should be given to whether the eviction can be undertaken by High Court Enforcement Officers (see here), which should see waiting times significantly reduced once the ban is lifted.

If you have any questions whatsoever, please do get in touch with a member of the team on 01435 897297 or info@kdllaw.com.

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