During this difficult and uncertain time, we appreciate tenants will be concerned about the impact of Coronavirus on their ability to stay in their rented property.
On 25th March 2020, the government introduced the Coronavirus Act 2020 to provide tenants with protection from eviction. The new legislation is in force until 30th September 2020 but the Government does have the power to extend this period if necessary.
The main point tenants must be aware of is that the new legislation does not provide any relief from paying your rent. You are still under an obligation to keep to the terms of your tenancy agreement including continuing to make your rent payments.
Therefore, we advise you to continue paying your rent and if you do find yourself in financial difficulties you must communicate with your landlord with the hope of coming to an agreement.
New Notices Seeking Possession
The legislation provides that as of 26th March 2020, if your landlord seeks possession of your property they are required to provide you with at least 3 months’ notice from the date the notice is served. Therefore, your landlord is unable to commence court proceedings to evict you from your home for at least 3 months.
- As per the new legislation, your landlord must serve you a notice seeking possession in the prescribed format and provide you with certain specific information. Therefore, if you do receive either a s.21 Notice or s.8 Notice seeking possession, please do not hesitate to contact our specialist housing law department on 01642 247656. We will be able to review all documentation on your behalf to determine whether your landlord’s Notice Seeking Possession is valid or not and provide you with the appropriate advice moving forward.
Existing Notices Seeking Possession
The legislation does not account for notices of possessions that have already been served to you by your landlord before the introduction of the Act. However, the government has provided guidance on this situation and confirmed that all ongoing housing possession court cases or those about to go into the system are to be suspended for an initial 90 days. Therefore, your landlord will be unable to progress possession or eviction proceedings through the courts to eviction.
- If you believe you are due to have a possession/warrant hearing at court in the near future or if you have any concerns about your situation, please do not hesitate to contact our housing law department for specialist advise.
Our facilities allow our housing advice specialists to offer telephone and video call services such as skype / zoom / facetime to provide you with the best possible support throughout this difficult time.
We also have a Legal Aid franchise which allows us to assist tenants throughout the crisis by providing funded assistance under the legal help and assistance scheme to those who are eligible. We also offer a FREE 20 minute consultation and virtual advice clinics.
Contact us today on 01642 247656 or EMAIL housingdepartment@watsonwoodhouse.co.uk 0R TEXT 07876797578.