New lockdown-The latest guidance on lettings evictions

It is thought likely that the new four-week lockdown in England coming into effect on Thursday will mean evictions will be extremely difficult to enforce for some months.

Although the eviction ban actually ended several weeks ago, it was agreed last week that tenants living in areas under the old Tier 2 and Tier 3 Covid-19 restrictions in England and Wales were temporarily protected from eviction.

The government asked bailiffs not to enforce court possession orders in areas with the highest Coronavirus restrictions. So although evictions could still proceed through the courts, bailiffs will not enforce court orders in Tier 2 and 3 areas.

Bailiff trade bodies agreed to the request made in a letter from Justice Secretary Robert Buckland who wrote: “We would request that your members should instruct the enforcement agents working under their authorisation not to enter properties that are classified as local alert level 2 (high) or 3 (very high).”

With the new lockdown in England lasting from November 5 to December 2 - at least - it is thought that the bailiffs’ decisions not to enforce evictions in high-restriction areas will be extended across England.

The government has already said that enforcement action will also be paused over Christmas - specifically between December 11 and January 11 - except in ‘the most serious circumstances’, such as cases involving antisocial behaviour or domestic abuse.

It is thought likely that courts in England will still sit during the imminent lockdown and they are prioritising eviction cases involving anti-social behaviour, crime and extreme rental arrears.

However, practical enforcement for any eviction agreed appears likely to be on hold until mid-January.

On top of all that, agents acting for landlords in England and Wales must now give six months’ notice to tenants before starting eviction proceedings, apart from in the most extreme circumstances.

These include where tenants are proven to have demonstrated anti-social behaviour, committed fraud or if they are more than six months in arrears with their rent payments. The six-month minimum notice period was introduced by the government in September and will remain in place until at least March 31 next year.