It is important to stress that Tenants remain liable to continue paying their rent and abide by the other terms of their Tenancy Agreement and should do so to the best of their ability. The Government has put in place a range of financial support packages and it therefore expects that only a minority of Tenancies will be affected by the Coronavirus and the new legislation that has recently been passed.
Most Tenancies are what are known as Assured Shorthold Tenancies or ASTs. These are governed by the Housing Act 1988. Under the Housing Act 1988 there are two procedures available for Landlords to gain possession of a property from a Tenant:
• The first is if the Tenant is in default i.e. rent arrears which provide the Landlord with grounds to serve a Section 8 Notice.
• The other is often referred to as a ‘No-Fault Eviction’ which is governed by Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.
The Coronavirus Act 2020 has essentially extended the notice periods that a Landlord needs to give to a Tenant (whether using Section 8 or Section 21) to 3 months. This is considerably longer than the notice that may have been required under Section 8 previously and one month longer than the usual Section 21 notice. Accordingly, it will take Landlords longer to regain possession of their property than it would have done previously.
In relation to possession claims that may have already begun, the judiciary has issued guidance to stop possession claims from progressing for a period of 90 days from 27 March 2020. This essentially means that it is unlikely that any Court will be making any Possession Orders before the end of June 2020.
If you are a Tenant then you should continue to abide by the terms of your Tenancy Agreement including payment of rent as far as you are able. If your income has been affected as a result of Coronavirus then you should contact Citizens Advice for information on Benefits that you may be able to claim to assist you in complying with your obligations to pay rent. In any event, you should engage with your Landlord at an early opportunity to try and reach an agreement with them as to how things will progress going forward. Landlords are not obliged to waive rent or reduce it and Tenants will remain liable for the full sum of rent due under the terms of the Tenancy Agreement.
In respect of Landlords whose Tenants are experiencing difficulties in complying with the Tenancy obligations, and in particular the obligation to pay rent, then Courts will expect you to engage reasonably with Tenants in trying to reach an agreement with them as to the way forward. As mentioned above, you would have to give the Tenant at least 3 months’ notice before you could commence possession proceedings through the Courts. Bearing in mind the Courts have suspended all possession proceedings that are currently going through the Court system for a period of 3 months, we anticipate that there will be a backlog and therefore the processing of possession claims will be slower than normal once they re-start processing them as there will be backlog to work through.
If the property that is subject to the Tenancy Agreement is subject to a mortgage and you will be unable to meet your mortgage obligations without the Tenant paying the rent, then you should contact your mortgage lender at the earliest opportunity to see if they can offer a mortgage payment holiday to assist with the immediate drop in income.
Landlords should also consider whether possession proceedings are the best option, particularly if the Tenant has historically been a good Tenant as it may be difficult to find an alternative Tenant if you repossess the property.
These are uncertain times for all parties and the Courts will expect everyone to take a pragmatic and reasonable approach to issues that arise.
If we can be of any assistance or you need any advice then please contact us.
This article aims to supply general information, but it is not intended to constitute advice. Every effort is made to ensure that the law referred to is correct at the date of publication and to avoid any statement which may mislead. However, no duty of care is assumed to any person and no liability is accepted for any omission or inaccuracy. Always seek our specific advice.
