Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he will respond to my correspondence of (i) 26 October and (ii) 12 November on exemptions to the ban on the enforcement of residential possession orders for empty properties following the death of a tenant; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending that practice to other empty properties.

A response has now been sent to your correspondence on exemptions to the ban on the enforcement of residential possession orders for empty properties following the death of a tenant.

On 16 November the Government laid the Public Health (Coronavirus) (Protection from Eviction and Taking Control of Goods) (England) Regulations 2020. From 17 November until 11 January, the Regulations will prevent enforcement agents from enforcing evictions, other than in limited circumstances, in order to protect public health.

It is important that there is a clear, uniform and transparent process for establishing whether one of the exemptions applies. The exemption for unoccupied properties is limited to orders made on the grounds of death of the tenant. This relates to a specific ground for possession under the Housing Act 1988. There is no equivalent ground for abandonment which would give rise to orders for possession and warrants of execution. However, the regulations do not interfere with the landlord’s existing right to take back possession without a court order for empty properties where there has been a surrender of the tenancy.