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Government confirms evictions will resume next month
The government has confirmed the eviction ban will end next month, with possession proceedings set to restart on 24 August.
Lord Greenhalgh, a minister at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), confirmed possession proceedings will resume from 24 August in response to a written parliamentary question.
He said: “From 24 August 2020, the courts will begin to process possession cases again. This is an important step towards ending the lockdown and will protect landlords’ important right to regain their property.
“Work is under way with the judiciary, legal representatives and the advice sector on arrangements, including new rules, to ensure that judges have all the information necessary to make just decisions and that the most vulnerable tenants can get the help they need when possession cases resume.”
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In March, the government put a temporary three-month ban on evictions due to fear the impact of coronavirus could lead to individuals falling behind on their rent and becoming homeless. This ban was then extended until the end of August.
The government has said it plans to introduce a ‘pre-action protocol’ when proceedings resume, to encourage landlords to negotiate repayment plans with tenants before taking court action.
However, charities have warned that this is not enough and have called on the government to make legislative changes that would give judges more discretion to decide whether to grant possession when a tenant has suffered financial hardship due to the crisis.
The confirmation comes one day after campaigning group Generation Rent warned that homelessness could treble if the government does not provide support to tenants who have fallen behind on their rent during the crisis.
It is calling on the government to introduce a new coronavirus home retention scheme, which would clear rent arrears not covered by the welfare system by allowing landlords to apply for funds covering up to 80% of the rent.
Today the homelessness charity Crisis released draft emergency legislation that it is calling on the government to implement in order to avoid people becoming homeless during the pandemic.
It includes changes to eviction laws, which would see judges given more power when a landlord is pursuing a Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction or using Ground 8 of Section 8, which is used when a tenant is in arrears.
An MHCLG spokesperson said: “The government has taken unprecedented action to support renters during the pandemic and there will have been no evictions for five months. We are working with the judiciary to ensure that, as far as practicable, arrangements are in place to give appropriate protections for those who have been particularly affected by coronavirus when proceedings start again.
“We have put in place a support package to help prevent people getting into financial hardship or rent arrears which includes help for businesses to pay staff salaries, providing over £6.5 billion to strengthen the welfare safety-net and increasing Local Housing Allowance rates so that they cover the lowest 30% of market rents.”
