Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when landlords of (a) private and (b) public properties will be able to resume evictions of tenants who are committing antisocial behaviour as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Currently due to measures in place to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic, all possession procedures from private and public properties are suspended until 23 August 2020. We do not intend to extend the suspension of possession proceedings beyond this date.
Landlords may still serve a notice of intention to seek possession, but they must comply with the Coronavirus Act 2020 by providing their tenants with at least three months’ notice. Our emergency measures to stay possessions and extend notice periods are designed to protect public health and as such apply to all cases, even where the issues a landlord has with their tenant are unrelated to the effects of COVID-19.
Both private and social landlords can also work with their local authority who have strong powers available to them through the Anti-social, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to tackle anti-social behaviour. These powers include the use of civil injunctions, closure orders and community protection notices.