Bailiff Ban Over and Notice Periods Shortened

Today, 1st June 2021, sees the end of the evictions ban in England, meaning that bailiffs can re-start the enforcement of possession warrants. With many evictions still waiting to be enforced which predate the pandemic, this will not be a quick process – but at least the bailiffs are now available!

After nearly 14 months of extended notice periods, the notice that landlords will have to give to their tenants drops to four months today in England. This is the first step towards notice periods dropping to pre-pandemic standards. The four-month notice period is expected to remain in place until 1st October 2021, when they will drop to two months in England. The drop is intended to offer a balanced approach to supporting tenants while recognising that private landlords who own just one property are highly vulnerable to rent arrears.

However, as is the case with the six-month notice periods, there will be exceptions to this for the most serious cases, including for:

• Anti-social behaviour (immediate to 4 weeks’ notice)
• 4 months’ or more accumulated rent arrears (4 weeks’ notice)
• Breach of immigration rules ‘Right to Rent’ (2 weeks’ notice)
• Death of a tenant (2 months’ notice)

For more information on notice periods see our recognised service provider Landlord Support Legal Solutions latest blog.