As noted in the previous post, the Govt has announced that the ban on evictions in England will be extended to the end of March 2021. It was due to end on 22 February.
The regulations putting this into effect have not been made public yet. We will have to see if there are further changes to the exceptions, as there were in January.
For those concerned that the usual procedure of dropping new regulations on us on the afternoon of the working day before they go into force has not been followed here – as the announcement gives a whole week’s notice – I would point out that we haven’t seen the regulations yet, so it is still possible for the timing of those to comply with the Coronavirus (Last Minute Changes to Housing Law) (Procedure) Regulations.
Will landlords be ever able to regain possession from bad tenants. I am sure that I am not the only one suffering from this government’s ‘oven ready’ provisions favouring tentants. This is open season for non-payment. Where a section 21 is pending, it will now require a new section 8 notice to effect the supposed ‘exceptions’. The goverment can be even handed and cover the debts accuring to landlords. The renting business in some instancesis a ‘small business’ and should be compensated in the same way that government provides for such businesses.
I cannot understand why the NRLA does not pursue this line.
I believe the NRLA have pursued it.
Given that a section 8 notice for arrears only requires 4 weeks notice where arrears are greater than 6 months, but a section 21 notice, since March 2020, has required 6 months notice, I’m not sure why anyone wouldn’t have used a section 8 notice on significant arrears anyway. The extension on the eviction ban really only catches cases where there is already a possession order.
That said, just extending the ban without doing anything more really doesn’t help anyone at all, landlord or tenant.
Giles, the “exceptions” aren’t really exceptions though. The Courts are doing absolutely everything they can to frustrate and delay evictions from taking place, as I said before on your previous blog post on this matter, they cannot be this incompetent, their actions have to be deliberate. The court I am dealing with now feel the need to do all work on paper, apparently some staff do not have facilities to work on line from home (frankly, they are now lying as well). On a happier note, our possession order celebrated it’s first birthday last week, feel free to send a belated card.
A letting agent friend of mine with a case at the same court last week received a possession order, unfortunately when reading the order the date of the notice of possession pre-dated the date of the application, as I said, it is impossible for the courts to be this incompetent. The must be another letter of instruction from Buckland in circulation, a simple one line effort which says “make up any b******* that you can think of”
Oh, the courts can be that incompetent. You are experiencing it for the first time. Some of us have lived with this for years.
Well yes, this is the first eviction for us since 2005, and no, it is impossible for them to be this hopeless, it has to be deliberate.
It is entirely possible. They are. Getting orders with a date for compliance that has already passed when the order is received is routine. Errors on orders are frequent. Notice of hearing not received or received after the hearing date quite standard. Files go missing constantly, so claims grind to a halt for many months due to lack of directions orders being made.
All claims still have to be on paper (save for PCOL). Where there is an email address for filing other documents, that address can’t receive attachments larger than 10Mb or over 10 pages, yet somehow we are still to supposed to file an electronic trial bundle that could be hundreds of pages for remote trials.
This was the case pre-Covid. It has not improved. The court system is massively underfunded and on the brink of collapse. Don’t take it personally.
The debt will be well over £20k before this is finalised, I’m entitled to take it personally
It could be £70K… https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2021/02/substantial-debts-are-not-substantial-arrears/
Hi Giles,
Am i correct in thinking that you cant serve section 21 within the first four months of the start of a new tenancy?
Gov.uk website says:
You cannot use a Section 21 notice if any of the following apply:
“•it’s less than 4 months since the tenancy started, or the fixed term has not ended, unless there’s a clause in the contract which allows you to do this”.
what do they mean by clause?
Not within the first four months at all. Not to expire before the end of the fixed term unless there is a break clause in the tenancy agreement.
Is it possible to apply for a exemption on the basis of 6 months arrears for a s21 proceedings where a possession order has already been obtained?
No. See https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2021/02/substantial-debts-are-not-substantial-arrears/