How does coronavirus affect possession orders?

The Coronavirus Act 2020 received royal assent yesterday. However, it does not contain provisions which directly either prevent new residential home possession proceedings being started, or suspend new residential home evictions taking place.

What does the Act say?

Until 30th September 2020 (which can be extended if necessary), the Coronavirus Act extends the period of time for notices requiring the tenant to give up possession of the property to 3 months. It appears that:

1. any notice served prior to 25th March 2020 on a tenant with less than a 3 months’ notice period remains valid. The landlord can issue court proceedings based on that notice when the notice expires to obtain an eviction of their tenant (regardless as to whether we remain in this crisis period or not at the time)
2. any court proceedings seeking possession of a residential property that have already commenced will continue
3. any dates which have already been set for evictions by the court should proceed
4. so long as any notice that is served from now (until 30th September 2020) is at least 3 months in length, then following expiration of the notice period, a landlord can commence court action and evict their tenant.

It remains to be seen whether the government will add to or amend these measures. On the face of it though, it is business as usual for all existing notices and possession proceedings. Any new notices are merely subject to the 3 months’ notice period (and new amended forms) for all new matters until the end of September.

If you’re unsure what to do, contact us

With the situation changing constantly, many landlords are in need of sound legal advice in tenant-related matters. Our experienced Litigation department have a vast amount of experience working with landlords. If you need advice on the new measures, our experienced solicitors are on hand to help.

• Book an appointment with our Litigation team
• Contact Liam, our head of Litigation directly
• Contact Astle Paterson on Facebook or Twitter
• Or give us a call on 01283 531366

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