Housing Secretary, Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, announced yesterday that restrictions imposed upon landlords and their ability to remove tenants will continue as follows:-

Evictions

The ban on bailiff evictions was introduced at the beginning of the pandemic and was due to come to an end (or be revised) on 31 March. It has indeed been revised and will now expire on 31 May 2021. The previous limited exemptions (see here) will apply but, in the main, Landlords will still be prevented from evicting their residential tenants until after 31 May 2021.

Notice periods

Landlords are currently required to give six months' notice to tenants to bring a tenancy to an end and before starting possession proceedings and Mr Jenrick has confirmed that that position will remain until at least 31 May 2021. The limited exemptions (see here) still apply but again, in the main, most landlords will find that they are bound to provide this lengthy notice if they wish to see their property returned or the back of their current tenant.

See the announcement here.

Comment

With the numbers of infections reducing on a daily basis and the plan for “normality” to return by 21 June 2021, the hint from the above is that landlords will soon be able to start evicting tenants again shortly but not before 31 May 2021, and termination notices will revert to something less than the present 6 months (but not before 31 May 2021).

This is a continually moving picture and, if infection numbers start to increase again, then we should expect further extensions or reinstatement of the current restrictions. The key phrase then is “watch this space”.

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