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Individuals living in Tier 3 lockdown areas can continue to move and view homes despite a tightening of restrictions, the government has said.
In updated guidance for areas with a ‘very high’ COVID-19 alert level, the government said: “Estate and letting agents and removal firms can continue to work and people looking to move home can continue to undertake viewings.”
The guidance also said that office workers who can work from home should do so over winter, but added: “Anyone else who cannot work from home should go to their place of work”.
Further guidance said that for appointments in the home, such as those for repairs and maintenance workers, operatives should look to make them COVID-secure.
Steps to do so include:
At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer, most housing associations only conducted emergency repairs, to minimise the spread of the virus in tenants’ homes. Since lockdown measures were eased, many have scaled up their repairs and maintenance services and worked through backlogs.
The government also put a freeze on the UK housing market by advising people to delay moving into new homes during the worst of the pandemic.
But the prime minister announced a three-tier COVID-19 alert system for regions in England on Monday, with the third tier being ‘very high’.
People in regions placed in this tier must not meet with anybody outside their household or support bubble “in any indoor or outdoor setting, whether at home or in a public space”.
The areas currently in this tier are Liverpool, Knowsley, Wirral, St Helens, Sefton and Halton. Areas with this rating will be reviewed every four weeks.