Tenants Protection under the Coronavirus Act 2020

Tenants protection has been a feature of the governments Covid-19 response in a year in which both landlords and tenants have had a difficult time. In particular, measures have been implemented to protect tenants against eviction. These measures have now been passed into law.

From the 26 March 2020, the following rights of landlords and tenants protection regarding eviction apply. A summary of the provisions is set out below:

• The Coronavirus Act 2020 protects most tenants and secure licensees in the private and social rented sectors by putting measures in place that say where landlords do need to issue notices seeking possession, the notice period must be for three months. Landlords can choose to give a longer notice period. Any claims in the system or about to go into the system will be affected by the stay of possession hearings and orders. Court actions to evict a tenant will not be progressed before 24 August 2020.
• At the expiry of the three-month notice, a landlord cannot force a tenant to leave their home without a court order. When the three-month notice period expires, a landlord would still need to take court action if the tenant was unable to move.

The government strongly advise landlords not to commence or continue eviction proceedings during this challenging time without a very good reason.

More details of the government advice for tenants protection is available online. If you are a landlord or tenant you may want to look further at what is and is not possible.