Has Society really changed Six Months on from Lockdown?
Pre-lockdown, which seems light years away, we were told that the norm for society across the globe was one of self-centred and egotistical behaviours. People were more interested in themselves rather than the needs and desires of others. In short, society as we knew it was self-absorbed.
Fast forward six months and life as we know has changed dramatically. We have been exposed to the unknown quantity that is a Pandemic. The words “unprecedented” , translated across the globe - “sans précédent” “isiyokuwa ya kawaida”, “senza precedenti”, “sin precedentess”, “Zenrei no nai”, “ongekend” - to become one of the most commonly used words to describe Covid-19 and the impact that it created worldwide. We witnessed pain, anguish, tragedy and sorrow as the virus impacted many many lives. However, we also witnessed human behaviour at it’s best - altruism.
The presence of altruistic tendencies are motivated by a desire to benefit someone other than oneself, often for the benefit of another person. Altruism is often used as the opposite of “selfish” or “egoistical” nature, the opposite of the person who is driven by their own motives, pushing aside the interests of anyone around them.
Government has changed the law so most renters have a 6 month notice period
Last week the Government announced that notice periods for section 8 and section 21 notices would change.
This afternoon, the Government has announced that legislation has now been introduced, so landlords must now give tenants 6 months’ notice before they can evict until March 2021, except in the most serious of cases, such as incidents of anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse perpetrators.
The stay on possession proceedings has been extended until 20 September, meaning that in total no tenant can have been legally evicted for 6 months at the height of the pandemic.
The package of support for renters includes the extension of notice periods and the extension to the stay on possession proceedings. For the most egregious cases, notice periods have returned to their pre-coronavirus levels, and landlords will be able to progress serious rent arrears cases more quickly.
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The government is also helping landlords affected by the worst cases to seek possession; these are:
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anti-social behaviour (now 4 weeks’ notice)
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domestic abuse (now 2 to 4 weeks’ notice)
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false statement (now 2 to 4 weeks’ notice)
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over 6 months’ accumulated rent arrears (now 4 weeks’ notice)
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breach of immigration rules ‘Right to Rent’ (now 3 months’ notice)
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Urgent Information regarding Suspensions on Housing Evictions and Service of Notice
After today’s announcement at 3:46pm, the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced that the Government will be extending the suspension (stay) on eviction proceedings for a further four weeks. It was anticipated that on the 24th August 2020, courts would resume possession proceedings, with the focus being on the pre-existing pre-lockdown claims for possessions and evictions that had been halted as a result of the pandemic.
On 20th September when the courts resume hearings relating to repossession, consideration and priority will be given to the most challenging of cases, prioritising those that involve anti-social behaviour, situations involving criminal activity and of course, rent arrears that have been accrued by the tenant for a significant period of time and have had an impact of the landlords financial situation.
With such an unprecedented situation that has impacted the whole country, this will mean that no tenants have been evicted since the 22nd March 2020. It is important to note that the suspension on housing repossessions also applies to mortgage lenders.
It is important to bear in mind that on the Friday 17th July as a result of the Coronavirus Act 2020, it was announced that the Civil Procedure Rules relating to possession claims would be changed and that the protocols relating to existing claims for possession requiring claimants (landlords) who intended to resume claims to “inform the court and defendant in writing via a “Reactivation Notice”. As a result of today’s announcement, it is crucial that landlords seek additional legal advice if in fact they have already advised the court and tenants of their intentions to move forward with possession claims and evictions.
Busiest month for ten years as home-buying supersedes summer holidays
The rulebook has been rewritten as the post-lockdown mini-boom accelerates rather than slows down. There is normally a seasonal slowdown in housing market activity over the summer months, as both buyers and sellers turn their attention to summer holidays. But this year, home movers have put more property on the market and have agreed more sales than in any month for over ten years, worth a record total of over £37 billion. This is leading to monthly price increases in ten out of twelve regions, with a record high in new seller asking prices in seven of those regions. Prices usually fall at this time of year, as sellers try to tempt holiday distracted buyers, with the national average monthly fall for the last ten years being 1.2%. While there is a slight monthly fall of 0.2% (-£768), this is due to London’s more normal seasonal fall of 2.0%, reversing what would otherwise have been an unseasonal national rise.