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Bailiffs ordered to halt evictions in Tier 2 and Tier 3 areas
Evictions will not be enforced in large parts of England after the government wrote to court bailiffs asking them not to enter residential properties in areas under increased COVID-19 restrictions.
Following previous guidance stating that evictions should not be enforced in areas where local lockdown measures are in place, Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland has written to the High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA) to clarify this now applies to all areas of England, except those under the lowest Tier 1 level of restrictions.
Mr Buckland wrote: “Following the implementation of the new Local COVID Alert Level system, I am writing to clarify that under the new system in England, we would request that your members should instruct the enforcement agents working under their authorisation not to enter residential properties in areas that are classified as Local Alert Level 2 (high) or 3 (very high), for the purposes of enforcement, including taking control of goods and carrying out evictions.”
The Lord Chancellor said the restriction on entering properties “does not prevent enforcement agents from attending residential properties to enforce writs of control” as long as they “adhere to the government’s COVID-secure guidance for enforcement agents”, as well as any other local or national restrictions that may be in place.
The government has confirmed to Inside Housing that the same guidance has been given to county court bailiffs.
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Andrew Wilson, chairman of the HCEOA, said Mr Buckland’s instructions were “in line with the interpretation of the guidance that our members had already taken”, but added that “it is very useful to have it confirmed in writing”.
In September, the government instructed bailiffs not to carry out evictions in areas where local lockdown measures are in place.
At the same time, it requested bailiffs not enforce evictions anywhere in England for a one-month period over Christmas, in what was branded a “Christmas truce”.
The tier system for assessing COVID-19 risk in England was introduced by the government earlier this month and sees the country split into three tiers: Tier 1 (medium), Tier 2 (high) and Tier 3 (very high).
Large swathes of the North West, including Liverpool and Manchester, are currently subject to Tier 3 as well as South Yorkshire, while London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds and Newcastle are among the areas in Tier 2.
Courts have only recently begun hearing possession cases again after a six month ban on evictions introduced at the start of the COVID-19 crisis.
Under the new restrictions, courts will still be able to hear possession cases; however, bailiffs will be prevented from enforcing eviction orders as long as a local area remains within Tier 2 or Tier 3.
At the end of August, the government extended the eviction notice period to six months, except for those who have accrued more than six months’ of arrears or are being evicted for antisocial behaviour.
