Big Changes for Landlords and Tenants from 1 June
The Parliamentary CLG Select Committee recently asked that the MHCLG set out its plans for unwinding the various measures put in place to protect tenants during the pandemic. Yesterday they did just that.
The stay on bailiff and HCEO evictions ends completely on 1 June and so landlords will now be able to enforce the various court orders they have obtained. Landlords could in principle apply for warrants now for action after 1 June but I am not sure that the Bailiff’s offices will allow this. There are suggestions of a massive burst of evictions as a result of this but I doubt that will occur. The reality is that the county court bailiffs simply do not have the capacity to do much more than they were doing pre-Covid and so I do not expect them to be doing that many more evictions than they were before the pandemic. The MHLCG press release suggests that there will be priority given to ASB and fraud cases but doubtless there will also be an element of first come, first served. The removal of the stay will also mean that all protections given to tenancies that fall outside one of the statutory regimes (non-Housing Act tenancies) and residential licences will lose all their protection from 1 June.
Also from 1 June there will be the start of a taper in relation to section 8 and 21 notice periods, which have been extended for the pandemic and the regulations to do this have already been laid. The first stage of the taper will last until the end of September.
Landmark Domestic Abuse Bill receives Royal Assent
Domestic Violence has always been a serious and emotive topic, yet since March 2020 and the first Lockdown in the UK, reports of violence in the home increased by 1000%. Victims were literally locked in with their abusers with no where to go, no possible escape. Our Advice Line deals with many different issues which relate predominantly to Landlord, Tenant lettings related matters, yet there have been “topics” which have become more and more prevalent - death of a landlord or tenant, mental health issues and of course, domestic violence within rented properties. It is the letting agent and / or property manager that is often faced with dealing with such matters - none of which are very straightforward or easy to navigate.
However, it is Domestic Violence that has come to the fore over the last 13 months, therefore the fact that The Domestic Abuse Act will provide further protections to the millions of people who experience domestic abuse and strengthen measures to tackle perpetrators, is a milestone.
Mass Evictions Debated in the House of Lords
Last Thursday, Lord Bird, the 75-year-old peer secured a one-hour ‘short’ debate that discussed the risk of mass evictions resulting from COVID-19-related poverty and “What steps the government will take to prevent such evictions?”.
The debate will be attended by Lord Greenhalgh the government’s spokesman on housing in the Lord, who will respond to the question and, it is widely believed, indicate how seriously ministers at the housing and justice ministries about once again extending the evictions ban.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk of mass evictions resulting from COVID-19-related poverty; and what steps they will take to prevent such evictions.
Retrospective Right to Rent Checks no Longer Required
The Home Office has announced that landlords & letting agents are no longer required to carry out retrospective Right to Rent checks on tenants who were right to rent checked by digital methods between 30 March 2020 and 16 May 2021.
As a result of the first and subsequent lockdowns, letting agents and landlords have been permitted to carry out Right to Rent checks through over digital platforms such as Skype, Zoom or FaceTime. However, Home Office guidance stated that lettings agents and landlords would need to go back and carry out retrospective checks within eight weeks of the Home Office announcing that restrictions were lifted. Clearly, the restrictions have been semi-lifted and then reinstated, creating a back log in retrospective face-to-face checks that would have to take place.
Letting agents are relieved that the temporary adjustments to right to rent checks due to COVID-19 are ending.
From 17 May 2021 landlords and letting agents must either:
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check the applicant’s right to rent online, if the applicant has provided their share code and date of birth