New Eviction Stay until 20 September 2020

In my last post here I wrote about the new rules which would be coming into force when the evictions stay came to an end on 24 August.

Well it looks like I need not have bothered as a last-minute announcement was made on Friday saying that

• The stay was to be extended until 20 September, and
• The notice period on possession notices would be extended to six months
• The six month notice periods (when they come into force) will remain until at least 31 March 2021

New rules and legislation

It looks like the stay has now been put into effect by the newly published Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 5) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020.

However, I have not yet seen anything officially amending the possession notice length so I assume that at the time of writing (Sunday morning 23 August) it is still in order to serve a notice with a three months notice period.

I suspect that this matter will come before Parliament when it resumes sitting in September and we may have new legislation.  Then again, we may not, who knows?

I suspect also that this move has been promoted by medical warnings about the potential health hazard of hundreds and maybe thousands of people becoming homeless during a pandemic.  Which is a valid consideration, but could have been dealt with in a less chaotic manner.

Getting help on Landlord Law

I have temporarily removed the notes I had done on the new rules which were due to start on Monday 24 August.  As and when I know more I will amend them and put them back up again.

Anyone wanting further information is referred to the post on Nearly Legal here which Giles is updating as and when he learns more.  The discussion on that post is also an interesting read.

If any members have questions, post them on the forum, but as usual with this government, things seem to be in a state of chaos and I can’t guarantee that I will have answers.