HOME REPOSSESSIONS: REVIEW HEARINGS TO BE SCRAPPED

SIXTH 'RETURN OF BREAKING LAW' UPDATE  - TO CHAPTER 67 ('AT WAR WITH YOUR HOME LANDLORD')

There is huge backlog of home repossession cases waiting to be heard in the county court. This results from the succession of halts to the cases during the pandemic. As a temporary measure, a review procedure of most cases was introduced when cases started to be dealt with again at which the prospect of an agreement between the parties was to be investigated. Where there was no agreement and the parties were not agreeable to attempt reaching an agreement through mediation, a final hearing was to be fixed.

But the review procedure has been a disappointment. Too few cases have settled. The Master of the Rolls, who is the head of civil justice in England and Wales, has decreed that a review hearing should no longer be standard practice. Similarly, a triage hearing before any final hearing should generally no longer take place. This will be reflected in amended procedural rules which can be expected in the near future. But if local courts want to continue with these interim hearings they will be at liberty to do so. I fancy, however, that there will be little appetite for them unless the case is being defended on genuine and substantial grounds.

The changes will mean earlier final hearing dates for landlord and tenant as well as mortgage possession cases and will come as a relief to many landlords who have felt aggrieved at the long delays in them achieving what they claim is the justice they deserve,

 

COVID-19: RESPITE FOR TENANTS: LATEST

That extended ban on evictions and the delivery of notices of eviction of residential tenants in England on which I reported to you at  https://www.breakinglaw.co.uk has arrived. And to prove it, as they say, it's 'ere! It will continue until 31 May 2021 and for that, tenants may bless and landlords may curse, the Public Health (Coronavirus) (Protection from Eviction) (England) (No 2) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/362) laid before Parliament today 22 March 2021. As before, there are exceptions. These are that the possession order was against unknown trespassers, or has been made wholly or partly on the grounds of anti-social behaviour, nuisance, domestic abuse in social tenancies, false statements, substantial rent arrears exceeding six months' worth or where the occupier has died.

Flexible Tenancies: Landlords in Trouble

Between 2014 and 2018 an estimated 30,000 flexible tenancies were granted by local authorities. If a flexible tenancy has been granted to you, your landlord may well be frustrated in any attempt to get you out before the fixed term of the tenancy has come to an end. A judgment of the Court of Appeal in a case called Croydon London Borough Council v Kalongola [2021] EWCA Civ 77 has made it clear that without a so-called forfeiture clause in your tenancy agreement - you should check with a professional on whether you've got one - the landlord cannot bring the tenancy to an early end. And, even if there is a forfeiture clause in the agreement, there are certain technical steps the landlord would need to take before it could secure a court order for possession against you.

Croydon has been refused permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. It might seek permission from the Supreme Courts itself. We shall see.

COVID-19: EVICTIONS & BAILIFFS HALTED AGAIN: ENGLAND

Regulations made today and coming into force tomorrow 17 November 2020 will save the majority of residential occupiers in England from eviction and seizure of their goods for the time being. The Public Health (Coronavirus) (Protection from Eviction and Taking Control of Goods) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/1290) stop evictions up to 11 January 2021. They also stop bailiffs and enforcement agents seizing goods inside residential premises (but not outside or on the road and not from business premises) until the end of the current national lockdown on 02 December 2020. Possession proceedings which are pending and new possession cases can still continue.

There are exceptions to the paralysis on evictions (which extends to even delivering tenants with a notice of eviction proclaiming when the bailiff or enforcement against will be calling and so this effectively amounts to a ban on fixing eviction appointments).   The main exception is where the possession order was made on the ground of rent arrears amounting to the equivalent of nine months but any arrears which have clocked up since 23 March 2020 will be disregarded for this purpose. Other exceptions include evictions where the possession order has been made in relation to social tenancies on the grounds of anti-social behaviour, nuisance, false statements to obtain the tenancy or domestic abuse and orders made against trespassers whose identities have not been established.  

COVID-19: LANDLORD & TENANT: NEW SECTION 21 NOTICE: ENGLAND

The life of a notice seeking possession of premises let in England under an assured shorthand tenancy   - the commonly called section 21 notice - has been extended from six to ten months (by the Coronavirus Act 2020 (Residential Tenancies: Protection from Eviction) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020 SI 2020/747 and for more on those regulations see https://www.breakinglaw.co.uk).

But the above regulations failed to reflect the extended period in the prescribed notice that is Form 6A. That is put right by the Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) (Amendment) and Suspension (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 SI 2020/924 - cute title, eh? - which were made at 11.33am today and come into force tomorrow 02 September 2020. Although there is a current stay on bringing possession proceedings, there is no stay on a landlord serving a notice requiring possession on their tenant. This means that the revised section 21 notice should be used as from tomorrow and be for at least the increased period of six months. When that period reverts back to two months and the life of the section 21 notice to six months, the form will be reamended. Now, that's something to look forward to. 

Good evening!

COVID-19: NOTICES TO TENANTS: LATEST ON 6 MONTH INCREASE;ENGLAND

I reported on the extended stay to 20 September 2020 for  possession proceedings and enforcement at https://www.breakinglaw.co.uk Further covid-19 laws on the notice period to be given to tenants (before possession proceedings can be brought against them) came into force yesterday Saturday 29 August 2020. 

The new laws will last until 31 March 2021. For any notice given to a tenant from yesterday and up to 31 March 2021, the period  is doubled from what was the temporary three months to six months. There is a mighty exception. Where the landlord is relying on non-payment of rent and the arrears are for at least six months' worth of rent, the notice period is temporarily shortened to four weeks. There are other exceptions in relation to possession on the ground of anti-social behaviour and in respect of introductory and demoted tenancies.

For chapter and verse, see the Coronavirus Act 2020 (Residential Tenancies: Protection from Eviction) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/914).

POSSESSION STAY EXTENDED

I told you, didn't I? The ban in England and Wales on tenants being evicted and court possession proceedings being pursued was to be lifted as from yesterday. If you were a tenant, you blessed. If you were a landlord, you cursed - as you read https://www.breakinglaw.co.uk/2020/08/bailiffs-about-to-awake.html

And what have they gone and done? The ban has been extended until 20 September 2020 by the Civil Procedure (Amendment No 5) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 SI 2020/889. This means that where a possession order has already been made, a tenant cannot generally be evicted before 5 October 2020 (a 14 days notice of the eviction appointment must be given unless the court shortens the notice period). And it means that the hearings of cases where no order has yet been made are unlikely to take place before around 28 October 2020.

The notice by the landlord requiring the tenant to vacate is being extended from the temporary three months to a temporary six months but more on this shortly when the necessary legislation has been published.

But the ban on bailiffs and High Court enforcement agents seizing goods where a judgment has gone unsatisfied is over.

COVID-19: POSSESSION MORATORIUM EXTENDED

The freeze in England and Wales on property possession proceedings being progressed in the courts and possession orders being enforced by county court bailiffs or High Court enforcement agents is being extended until 23 August 2020. Proceedings and orders against trespassers are excluded. The Civil Procedure (Amendment No 2) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 SI 2010/582 are responsible and cover the same ground as the amended CPR PD 51Z.

COVID-19 REPOSSESSIONS HALTED IV: TRESPASSERS' HONEYMOONS OVER: LATEST

Please see my posts of 27 March 2020 (two) and 01 April 2020 about the stay of  property possession proceedings and the stay on enforcement of  possession orders.

Today a revised CPR Practice Direction has been published (it is to be found in what is called the 120th CPR update) and operates from 18 April 2020. It -

• Excludes from the stay on bringing possession proceedings and enforcing possession orders, those proceedings that have been brought against and the enforcement of orders wish have been made against TRESPASSERS and that, if I may say so, makes perfect sense. The stays will also not apply to the fast track procedure for dispossessing trespassers by way of interim possession orders.
• Clarifies that parties to possession proceedings can make applications for case management direction (and this will usually relate to defended cases) where those directions are agreed by them. This will enable the directions to be made by a judge - provided they are not crazy! - on paper and without any court attendances. It will also enable possession proceedings to resume effectively once the stay period is up.
• Clarifies that, as I have suggested, there is no bar on possession proceedings being commenced in court during the stay period. But it will not be possible to progress them unless they have been brought against trespassers.