Changes to the mandatory right to rent checks which were introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will now end on 30/09/2022, extended from 17/05/2021, 21/06/2021, 31/08/2021 and 05/04/2022. The Government has confirmed the further extension was made following the positive feedback received after its announcement enabling landlords to use Identification Document Validation Technology […]

  The Court of Appeal (‘COA’) has handed down judgment in the second appeal of Northwood Solihull v Fearn & Ors, which was heard last week…   The Facts The landlord had filed a claim for possession following service of a notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 based on rent arrears. The […]

  The temporary measures brought in to ease the pressure on courts dealing with housing possession claims are to come to an end. Although notice periods reverted to normal levels on 01/10/2021, the procedural changes to the court process remained in place and were due to be reconsidered prior to their proposed end date of […]

  The government has finally announced that notice periods will return to pre-pandemic levels on 01/10/2021. Since 26/03/2020, Schedule 29 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 increased the notice periods in relation to most possession proceedings for private residential tenancies with the aim of protecting residential tenants from eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Schedule 29 has […]

  Changes to the mandatory right to rent checks which were introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will now end on 05/04/2022, extended from 17/05/2021, 21/06/2021 and 31/08/2021. The government has confirmed further extension was made as it “supports landlords and letting agents, whilst we look to implement a long-term, post-pandemic solution.” The ‘long-term, […]

  Landlords must ensure they give the correct amount of notice when seeking possession of a private residential property. The notice periods are set out in sections 8 and 21 of the Housing Act 1988 and depend on the circumstances in which possession is being sought. However, between 26/03/2020 to 30/09/2021, the notice periods have […]

  Landlords must ensure they give the correct amount of notice when seeking possession of a private residential property. The notice periods are set out in section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (the ‘Act’) and depend on the ground relied upon. When seeking possession based on rent arrears, the relevant grounds are 8, 10 […]

  Landlords must check that any prospective tenants and occupiers aged over 18 can legally rent residential property in England. From today, landlords must move from checking nationality to checking UK immigration status. This is because applications to the EU Settlement Scheme have now closed to most applicants. The Scheme allowed EEA and Swiss citizens […]

Changes to the mandatory right to rent checks which were introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will now end on 31/08/2021, extended from 17/05/2021 and 21/06/2021. The further extension follows the government’s announcement on 14/06/2021 to extend the date for the easing of lockdown restrictions and social distancing measures. Pre-Pandemic Position Prior to the […]

The ban on bailiff evictions is now over! Of course, the courts will continue to prioritise the most serious cases, such as those involving fraud or anti-social behaviour. With many evictions still waiting to be enforced which predate the pandemic, this will not be a quick process – but at least the bailiffs are now […]