Following our blog last week confirming that the ban on evictions had been extended again until 31 March 2021, the Public Health (Coronavirus) (Protection from Eviction) (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 came into effect on 22 February 2021.
These replace the existing Regulations which expired on 21 February 2021.
These new Regulations mirror those rules which expired on 21 February 2021, extending the general ban on evictions until 31 March 2021. The previous exceptions to this ban remain and the ban does not apply where the writ or warrant of possession or notice of eviction applied for is either against unknown trespassers or wholly or partly made with reliance upon:
- The absolute ground for possession for anti-social behaviour under the Housing Act 1985;
- Evidence of anti-social behaviour;
- Evidence that the tenant knowingly or recklessly made a false statement which caused the tenancy to be granted;
- Evidence of domestic abuse;
- Evidence of substantial rent arrears (defined as being as at least an amount equivalent to 6 months’ rent);
- The death of an assured tenant so long as the person executing the warrant or delivering the notice takes reasonable steps on attending the property to check that it is unoccupied before doing so.
As this list of exceptions remains the same as those under the previous Regulations, our previous concerns set out here regarding those circumstances caught by this general ban remain and extending this ban further will result in more cases being caught under this general ban and further backlog and delay once the ban is eventually lifted.
With the Prime Minister confirming yesterday that lockdown restrictions will be lifted carefully and in very specific stages it would be no surprise if these Regulations were extended once again following their expiry on 31 March 2021.
If you require any assistance relating to anything covered in this blog then do not hesitate to contact our Housing and Regeneration Team.
