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Bailiffs must halt evictions during national lockdown, says government
Bailiffs in England must not evict renters from their homes during the latest national lockdown, the government has said.
In an update last night, Robert Jenrick said that renters would be protected from evictions during the national restrictions, with no bailiff enforcement action allowed to take place in the coming weeks.
The only exceptions to this will be in cases of illegal occupation, anti-social behaviour, fraud, where a social housing tenant is the perpetrator of domestic abuse, or where the “landlord, rightly, would like to relet their property to another tenant”.
The government has also said that it is looking to introduce an exemption for tenants with extreme pre-COVID rent arrears.
The new guidance comes ahead of a planned month-long Christmas ‘truce’ on evictions, which was set to begin at the start of December. The new measures and the truce mean that eviction action is effectively blocked until at least 11 January.
Last month the government wrote to bailiffs operating in areas experiencing Tier 2 and Tier 3 COVID-19 restrictions, to tell them not to enforce evictions on residents.
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The announcement by Mr Jenrick is the latest guidance brought in by the government to try to protect renters whose finances have been severely affected by the pandemic.
At the start of the last lockdown in March the government announced an evictions ban, which legislated that possession hearings could not be started through the courts, effectively banning evictions outright for any reason. This lasted until 20 September after a number of extensions by the government.
Under the new guidance, courts will remain open and can hear possession cases but bailiff enforcement will be discouraged. Those possession hearing cases that are heard will be prioritised, with anti-social behaviour cases and other crimes taking precedence, the government has said.
The new guidance comes alongside other policies put in place by the government for renters during the COVID-19 crisis. This includes the introduction of a six-month notice period for evictions, meaning renters can stay in their homes until May 2021 if they are served with an eviction notice this month.
However, some campaign groups have criticised the government’s new measures, calling the pause on bailiff action “non-binding and “completely inadequate”.
Alicia Kennedy, director of Generation Rent, said: “A non-binding pause on bailiff action is completely inadequate. Eviction notices will be dropping through renters’ doors throughout lockdown, and the courts will be open the entire time, putting pressure on renters to move out while the pandemic rages on.
“Although the government has asked bailiffs not to enforce possession orders, it’s not clear if tenants are legally protected. In the event that a bailiff goes against the guidance, renters will have few options.”
Mr Jenrick said: “We have already taken unprecedented action to support renters during the pandemic including introducing a six-month notice period and financial support to help those struggling to pay their rent.
“We are now going further by protecting renters from eviction during the new national restrictions and throughout the Christmas period – with a pause on bailiff activity other than in the most serious circumstances, such as anti-social behaviour or fraud.
“Striking the right balance between helping tenants in need while ensuring landlords have access to justice in the most serious cases.”
