Residential Tenancy Eviction Coronavirus Update

Three new announcements are of interest:

1. Notice Periods

Coronavirus Act 2020 (Residential Tenancies and Notices) (Amendment and Suspension) (England) Regulations 2021

With effect from 26 March 2020, the Coronavirus Act 2020 (Sch.29) modified most statutory notice periods for residential possession proceedings so as to require extended notice periods in most possession claims against most residential tenants. New regulations provide that, with effect from 1 October 2021, notice periods will revert to pre-pandemic periods. The regulations preserve the power for the Secretary of State to reimpose extended notice periods until 25 March 2022.

2. Court Fees

Court Fees (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2021

This order increases the fees payable for many types of application in the civil courts. Amongst other things, the fee for issue of a warrant of possession (to instruct bailiffs) increases from £121 to £130.

3. The Right to Rent

Coronavirus: Right to Rent checks

In March 2020, the government announced a temporary relaxation on the “right to rent” checks (Immigration Act 2014) during the coronavirus pandemic. It was permissible for landlords or agents to carry out checks using video calling software and it was acceptable to see scanned or photo versions of documents (which could be sent by email) rather than originals. The government has announced that those relaxations will end on 5 April 2022.

Oliver Kew

Published on 13/09/2021