On Friday 28th August 2020, the Government continued their usual fun and games of updating important legislation and releasing guidance after the fact.
Only when they confidently believe the majority of housing solicitors, judges and barristers would have opened the second bottle of Merlot do they feel safe to make these Breaking News stories and Friday was no exception and we welcomed to the world the freshly born The Coronavirus Act 2020 (Residential Tenancies: Protection from Eviction) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020
The Coronavirus Act 2020 had already increased notice periods and plunged many landlords into an abyss of financial worry with some tenants believing a global pandemic is the perfect reason not to pay rent.
This was quickly followed by a number of Practice Directions which saw the court system closed in relation to possession proceedings.
Unsurprisingly this blanket ruling had a detrimental effect on property owners whose tenants had built up rent arrears prior to the lockdown or had committed an offence such as anti social behaviour (ASB)
And this is what brought Fridays announcement, now landlords could serve shorter notice periods on those tenants whose breaches are not Covid-19 related, but like everything the Government has done throughout lockdown, these kneejerk announcements come with little or no guidance, but i have done my best to simplify the new notice periods and hopefully make it easier to understand, given that this amendment actually takes in 5 separate pieces of legislation and has incited a collective loss of will amongst property professionals.
I am sure I am not the only one reaching for a cross and some sage when i hear the word "Possession" mentioned in the news updates.
The most important element for landlords to understand is that the new notice periods are all different and range from 2weeks to 6 months, you will need to ensure you have the correct ground for eviction and dates on your application form.
Section 21, the no fault notice, has its timeframe increased again from 3months to 6 months, in addition its shelf life of 6 months has also been extended to10, meaning landlords will have just 4 months in which to apply to court once the notice period expires.
The common grounds used for rent arrears Ground 8, 10 and 11 now have two sets of notice periods depending on whether the tenant is in 6 months rent arrears or not.
It is also important to make sure that if you are using more than one ground for the reason for eviction, that those grounds all have the same notice period, as you cannot have 2 or 3 different grounds if one is only 2 weeks notice but the other is 3months.
Here is where it gets confusing.......
Where a landlord is relying on an Anti-Social Behaviour ground which will be 7A or 14, it is worth remembering that Ground 7A is a mandatory ground but generally requires the tenant (or some other person residing in or visiting the property) to have been convicted of an anti-social behaviour offence or some other relatively serious disorder offence
Whereas Ground 14 although discretionary, only requires the tenant or an occupier to have caused a nuisance or annoyance to their neighbours, the landlord or the landlords agent.
It is important to note that where ground 14 can be used it actually shortens the notice period for any other grounds that you are relying on for the same notice.
So if a landlord was also seeking possession under ground 1 ( now increased to six months) and also could show that there was anti-social behaviour under ground 14 they could give a notice which required no notice period and apply to court immediately
If you do not have any evidence to support a Ground 14 claim, then you can't throw it in with the hope of shortening notice periods overall, but it can be used where there is evidence, even if the court is not ultimately persuaded to make a possession order under ground 14.
These new notice periods will remain in force until 31st March 2021 and not the previously announced 30th September 2020.
It is also now important to familiarise yourself with the new Pre-action process that will come into force on 20th September, when courts re-open, this will include the need for reactivation notices to be sent to both the court and the tenant along with supporting evidence of how Covid-19 has effected the tenant.
The courts WILL NOT automatically process possession claims which have been submitted prior to 3rd August 2020 so you will need to be proactive when seeking possession.
Finally and a welcomed surprise, is both Form3and Form 6a have been updated to accommodate the change in notice periods.
This link below will take you to a simple document explaining each ground for possession under Section 8 and its new notice period term.
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