Evictions: Coronavirus

(asked on 24th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the (a) bailiff enforced eviction ban and (b) protection from eviction during the covid-19 outbreak applies to mortgage as well as landlord possession actions.


Answered by
Christopher Pincher Portrait
Christopher Pincher
This question was answered on 13th April 2021

The Public Health (Coronavirus) (Protection from Eviction) (England) Regulations 2021 prevents the serving and execution of writs or warrants of possession by bailiffs up to 31 May 2021. Landlords and mortgage lenders are able to issue a claim and obtain a possession order, but the ban prevents bailiff enforcement. Limited exemptions exist to enable landlords to take enforcement action in the most serious cases.

The Coronavirus Act 2020 requires landlords to provide six months’ notice before seeking possession through the courts except in the most serious cases. The notice periods do not apply to mortgage lenders when seeking possession from homeowners. A pre action protocol is in place to ensure mortgage lenders only take court action as a last resort. If a lender takes possession of a property and wishes to seek possession from sitting tenants, they will need to provide the relevant period of notice before they can seek possession through the court.

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