Industry News
Government extends ban on most evictions until next Spring
to six months – effectively banning the vast majority of evictions over the autumn and winter period, but leaving question marks over the rights of both tenants and their landlords. The change in the law means there should be no
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evictions carried out in the run up to and over Christmas. The only exceptions are meant to be the most serious breaches of tenancy conditions, where tenants have committed anti-social behaviour, domestic violence or fraud, and the landlord wants to re-let their property to another tenant. The Housing Secretary also confirmed that with
coronavirus still posing a risk, if an area is in a local lockdown evictions will not be enforced by bailiffs. Guidance is also being issued to bailiffs that they should not enforce any rent arrears related possession orders in the weeks around Christmas. Robert Jenrick declared the Government has put
in place an “unprecedented package of support” to help communities through the pandemic, including strengthening the welfare safety net with a nearly £9.3 billion boost to the welfare system. This includes an extra £1 billion to increase Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates so that they cover the lowest 30 per cent of market rents.
COURT CASES RESUME For renters who require additional support, there is £180 million available for Discretionary Housing Payments, an increase of £40 million from last year and which is for councils to distribute to support renters with housing costs. Since 21st September courts have started to hear possession hearings again, but they have been
complex legal framework over security of tenure has emerged after the Government changed the law to increase notice periods
subject to new court processes and procedures which the Judiciary developed, during the seven months since cases were suspended in March. About 200 judges were given training to deal with housing cases as they prepared to deal with the backlog. The changes include:
• The prioritisation of cases, such as those involving anti-social behaviour and other crimes, as well as extreme rent arrears where landlords would otherwise face unmanageable debts;
• No cases from before 3 August 2020 will immediately proceed to hearing, but will have to be ‘re-activated’ by the landlord and then subject to a new review hearing, at least four weeks before the substantive hearing; and
• Landlords need to provide the courts and judges with information on how tenants have been affected by the pandemic. Where this information is not provided, judges can adjourn proceedings until the information is provided. However, as many as 55,000 private renters are
thought to have been given an eviction notice between March and August this year. They are considered to be at a high risk of eviction. Meanwhile cash-strapped councils fear they will be left to pick up the bill from any increase in homelessness that emerges in the coming months.
FURTHER PROTECTIONS NEEDED Polly Neate, the chief executive of Shelter, said: “More than 300,000 private renters have fallen behind on their rent since the pandemic hit. And while some of the short-term protections – like longer notice periods – are welcome, they don’t apply to everyone, nor do they stop people getting deeper into debt.
“If the Government is dead set on lifting the
evictions ban, then the best shot it can give struggling renters to keep hold of their homes is with emergency funds to clear COVID arrears.” David Renard, the Conservative leader of
Swindon council and the housing spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: “Councils will continue to do everything they can to help tenants who are in financial difficulty and cope with the likely increase in those seeking housing support. However, they face significant homelessness pressures which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. “The Government should bring forward its
pledge to end ‘no-fault (Section 21) evictions’, as well as commit to maintaining local housing allowance rates at the lowest third of market rents beyond the period it has committed to.” Where tenants do experience financial
difficulties as a result of the pandemic, the Government expects landlords and tenants to work together and exhaust all possible options – such as flexible payment plans which take into account a tenant’s individual circumstances – to ensure cases only end up in court as an absolute last resort. According to independent research, 87 per cent
of tenants have continued to pay full rent since the start of the pandemic, with a further eight per cent agreeing reduced fees with their landlords. The original halt on possession proceedings was
introduced at the end of March. It was extended in June and again in late August bringing the suspension to a total of six months. Under the new rules, notice periods for the most serious circumstances have been shortened. Since late August, notice periods must be at least 4 weeks where over six months of rent is due (if less than 6 months is owed, then 6 months’ notice must be given). Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National
Residential Landlords Association said: “It is disappointing that the Government has so far failed to heed the warnings of the NRLA and others that a financial package is needed to pay-off rent arrears built up due to COVID. In the end this is the best way to sustain tenancies. We will continue to campaign hard for this important measure.”
Policy vacuum feared after homelessness adviser steps down
The Government’s top adviser on homelessness shocked the housing sector by unexpectedly stepping down and sparking fears of a policy vacuum at a crucial time, with tens of thousands of tenants threatened with eviction. Dame Louise Casey told housing and campaign
groups that she had stepped back from her role as she wanted to make her “contribution to public service” from the House of Lords. The Government’s target is to end rough sleeping
by 2024 and it remains unclear who will now lead that effort. As recently as February, Casey was appointed to review the Government’s rough sleeping strategy but her role quickly morphed into crisis management due to the Coronavirus
pandemic. As well as helping arrange thousands of hotel and
temporary accommodation spaces to get rough sleepers indoors, she was credited with securing an additional £105m for more permanent accommodation for those people to move into. Nearly 15,000 people were helped under the Government’s ‘Everyone In’ initiative. Jon Sparkes, the chief executive of charity Crisis.
“We urge minsters not to leave a leadership vacuum. With the economic impact of the pandemic pushing more people into homelessness, we must redouble our efforts, otherwise we risk rates of rough sleeping rising with all the human misery this entails.”
8 | HMM October/November 2020 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk There are worrying signs that rough sleeping is
increasing again, in a trend that is likely to be exacerbated by rising unemployment as the recession bites. Figures from the homelessness charity Streetlink
showed that alerts by members of the public about rough sleepers increased by 36 per cent year on year between April and June 2020, reaching 16,976. Notifications were also higher than the previous quarter. Official homelessness statistics showed there
were nearly 5,000 tenants in England threatened with section 21 “no fault” evictions between January and the end of March before lockdown, a 25 per cent increase on the previous three-month period.
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