Notice periods for seeking possession of most residential tenancies in England increased to six months

 

Following on from our recent update in relation to the extension of the stay on possession proceedings to 20th September 2020, the Coronavirus Act 2020 has, as anticipated, now been amended so as to extend the amount of notice of possession proceedings to be given to residential tenants in most cases.

Background

When the Coronavirus Act 2020 (“the 2020 Act”) came into force on 26 March 2020, notice periods in relation to possession proceedings for certain residential tenancies were extended, in most cases to three months. This amendment applied to any notices being served during the “Relevant Period”, which began on 26 March 2020 and was due to end on 30 September 2020.

The 2020 Act also contained provision for the Secretary of State (or, in the case of Wales, the Welsh Ministers) to extend the Relevant Period and to alter the three month notice period by way of further regulations.

The provisions of the 2020 Act relating to residential tenancies are contained in Schedule 29.

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, indicated that the notice periods were going to be extended in relation to England (having already been extended in relation to Wales) when he announced the recent extension to the stay in proceedings.

The New Regulations

The Coronavirus Act 2020 (Residential Tenancies: Protection from Eviction) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/914) (“the Regulations”) came into force on 29th August 2020.

The Regulations apply in England only and make amendments to the 2020 Act. In particular, they:

• Extend the end of the Relevant Period until 31 March 2021 (regulation 1).
• Disapply certain parts of Schedule 29 to the 2020 Act so that where a landlord relies on particular grounds involving anti-social behaviour, the notice requirements have reverted to those in force before the 2020 Act was enacted (regulation 2).
• Increase the required notice periods for most residential possession notices, from three to six months, subject to several important exceptions (regulation 3).

Where the tenancy is a Rent Act 1977-protected or statutory tenancy, a secure, assured or assured shorthold tenancy (AST), the exceptions mean that the following notice periods apply:

• Four weeks, where at least six months’ rent is unpaid at the time the notice is served.
• Three months, where the grounds for eviction relate to the tenant’s immigration status or the tenancy is an assured tenancy or AST and possession is sought following the death of the former tenant.
• The notice period that applied before Schedule 29 to the 2020 Act came into force, where the grounds for eviction relate to anti-social behaviour, domestic violence or acquiring the tenancy as a result of a fraud.

For introductory and demoted tenancies, the exceptions set out a required notice period of four weeks in a case where the landlord seeks possession for reasons related to anti-social behaviour or domestic violence.

Amendments have been made to the prescribed form of notice under section 8 and section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (“HA 1988”) and, for secure tenancies, to the notice of intention to seek possession. It is therefore important to ensure that you use the correct form of notice as failure to do so could result in the notice being deemed invalid.

For notices seeking possession under section 21 of the HA 1988, the period in which possession proceedings must be commenced under section 21(4D) has been extended from six to ten months from the date on which the notice was given.

Landlords who have already served a notice on their tenants before the Regulations came into force on 29th August 2020 will be relieved to hear that the amendments to the 2020 Act are not retrospective and so do not apply in relation to notices served before that date.

If you are a landlord or a tenant and would like further advice in relation to your legal rights please contact Elizabeth Gibson on 01603 675641 or at eg@rogers-norton.co.uk.

Further Extension to the Possession Stay

 In continuance of the government’s unprecedented package of measures to help ameliorate the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, on 21st August 2020 the government announced that the possession stay, previously due to come to an end on 23rd August 2020, was to be extended to 20 September 2020.

The extension to stay has been effected by way of a further amendment to the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (“the Rules”), which govern how civil cases in England and Wales (including possession claims) are dealt with by the Courts and the parties. The effect of the amendment is that all possession proceedings and all enforcement proceedings by way of writ or warrant of possession are stayed until 20th September 2020.

When a claim is stayed, this means that the Court cannot take any action in relation to it. For example, there will be no hearings and no orders, including possession orders, will be made (subject to a few exceptions set out in the Rules). Similarly, the stay on writs or warrants of possession means that where a possession order has already been made and has expired, bailiffs are unable to attend at properties to evict the tenants.

Concern has been expressed amongst landlords and members of the legal profession as to the resulting backlog of cases at County Courts across the country once the stay is lifted. In relation to this, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has stated that:

“When courts do resume eviction hearings they will carefully prioritise the most egregious cases, ensuring landlords are able to progress the most serious cases, such as those involving anti-social behaviour and other crimes, as well as where landlords have not received rent for over a year and would otherwise face unmanageable debts.”

It is not at this stage clear whether any further legislation or amendment to the Rules shall be introduced to effect this policy.

Interestingly, Robert Jenrick also announced, alongside the extension, that:

“The government also intends to give tenants greater protection from eviction over the winter by requiring landlords to provide tenants with 6 months’ notice in all bar those cases raising other serious issues such as those involving anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse perpetrators, until at least the end of March.”

It is not clear how or when this further measure will be introduced. The Coronavirus Act 2020, which came into force on 25th March 2020, has already had the effect of extending the notice period from 2 months to 3 months for Section 21 Notices and to 3 months (in most cases) for Section 8 Notices.

It remains to be seen what will happen to notices served since 25 March 2020 which provided 3 months’ notice as required by the amendments effected the Coronavirus Act 2020, whether the 6-month time limit for issuing proceedings from the date of serving a Section 21 Notices will be lifted or amended, and what grounds in schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 will be subject to the new notice period.

The past 5 months have shown that anything can change at very short notice, so landlords and tenants should stay alert to any future announcements.

The above changes do not mean that tenants are no longer required to pay rent, so if you are a tenant you should continue to pay the rent in accordance with your tenancy agreement. If you are unable to do so you should seek independent legal and/or financial advice and try to agree a payment plan with your landlord to minimise the arrears that build up and address those arrears once you are in a better financial position.

Similarly, if you are a landlord you should maintain contact with your tenant and if the rent is in arrears discuss with the tenant the cause of those arrears and how they might be addressed. It is also important to note that the extension of the stay does not prevent you from serving a Section 8 or 21 Notice or issuing proceedings. It just means that if you issue proceedings they will be stayed automatically. It also does not affect the validity of any possession order that has already been made; you will just need to wait until after the stay is lifted before you are able to have the tenants evicted.

If you are a landlord or a tenant and would like further advice please contact Elizabeth Gibson at eg@rogers-norton.co.uk or on 01603 675641.