Government ban on evictions comes to an end

At the height of the unprecedented Coronavirus pandemic the government was required to take drastic steps to counteract the economic fallout. As millions of people were mandated to stay at home and therefore away from work, their means of living, it was exceedingly clear that an eviction ban would be necessary. With the ban on evictions now lifted, there is a backlog of cases which are set to resume. While Landlords may be rejoicing, the repercussions of the return of evictions are alarming to say the least.

What are evictions and what were the rules before the ban?

Evictions are a legal means for a landlord to remove a tenant from their property. Where a landlord wants to evict a tenant, they will usually issue a section 21 notice (Housing Act 1988), as most tenancies nowadays are assured shorthold. If a tenant stays in the property past the date in the order, the landlord must then petition the court if they still want the tenant to leave. Such an eviction is also known as a no-fault eviction as the landlord can evict without giving a reason and though one can challenge it, this takes the necessary knowledge and time. In the circumstances where a tenant has broken their rental agreement (by not paying rent, for instance) a section 8 notice is imposed instead. If the tenant does not leave by the specified date, they can apply for a possession order. As the national lockdown ensued, the government launched its safety net provisions, including the ban on evictions. This, the prohibition of new evictions notices and the postponement of ongoing eviction hearings, offered a sense of security by those most affected by the virus. In a time of great uncertainty, at least the safety of their homes was guaranteed. The ban which was originally intended to run until 21st June, but was then extended twice, came to an end at the end of September. In its wake, the impact is yet to be seen. Landlords now have to give 6 months’ notice to evict in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland, it is currently 12 weeks. This is a more significant notice period to that of pre-lockdown (2 months). Nonetheless, it is simply not enough.

The oncoming storm…

Now that the ban has been lifted, it is open season on the poor and vulnerable. Since the pandemic started, the charity Shelter has found that more than 170,000 tenants had been threatened with evictions and that 230,000 have fallen into arrears. In a time where working from home is advised, having a home seems to be an obvious necessity. An extension on the ban simply has allowed cases to pile up, not for cases to go away. With hundreds of thousands of private sector tenants waist-high in arrears, the question is will the second wave of Covid-19 be coupled with the mass evictions of those most in need.

The government should at the very least be considering adding an exception to the evictions rule to protect the vulnerable from losing everything. A recent Guardian article noted perfectly that the insecurity of the private rental sector in the UK was simply ‘unjust and harmful’. There is a consensus among the major parties that more needs to be done to help those at risk. The Labour Party is campaigning for a further extension to the ban. The Conservative Leader of Swindon council has called upon the government to live up to its pledge to end ‘no-fault evictions’. The Conservative think tank Onward published research showing that ‘the growth of the private rented sector has contributed to declining social fabric’. How to repair this social fabric could be the introduction of more social housing. Surely, this would be a better investment of taxpayer’s money than 22 billion pounds of housing benefits paid to landlords?

How to repair this social fabric could be the introduction of more social housing. Surely, this would be a better investment of taxpayer’s money than 22 billion pounds of housing benefits paid to landlords?

The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker has perfectly captured the key issue with ending the ban on evictions now.

“With infections rates rising, and the likelihood of more people having to self- isolate (or take time off work to care for children sent home because of Covid in their ‘bubble’), now is not the time to remove protection for one of the most crucial aspects of our life – our home.”

The need for security of shelter has never been more important. Now is not the time for the government to turn it back to the most vulnerable in our society. Local councils have already been pressured with cuts due to the pandemic, a rising number of evictions could strain services further. With Winter on its way a homelessness crisis and mass- evictions is something local councils can ill-afford. There is already serious cause for concern. Pete Moran, the head of Cumbria Law Centre has said that landlords have been circumventing the legal system and carrying out illegal possessions. At the time of this statement, the Law Centre was innundated with a number of complicated illegal possession cases, although the ban on evictions had only been lifted just a few days prior. This is only a glimpse of the action to come.

What needs to be done

It is apparent that the government needs to do more to protect the homes of the vulnerable during this Second wave. With the winter coming, it is more important than ever to protect people’s homes. While it is easy to sympathise with the Labour party’s campaign to extend the eviction ban, this is simply ‘delaying the inevitable’. The route which best protects the homes of people is to bring an end to no-fault evictions, and have clear guidelines in place to protect the most needy from losing everything. Without these protections in place, there is nothing to stop Landlords expelling the vulnerable on to the streets, in their thousands.