Last week saw further changes to the tenant eviction ban currently in place in the UK.

Now, possession cases with severe rent arrears will not be protected by the blanket eviction ban which applies to rent arrears connected to England’s national lockdown during the covid pandemic.

This translates as to bailiffs and High Court Enforcement Officers now being able to enforce warrants and complete evictions where applicable. Though this will only apply to cases where the equivalent of nine months’ unpaid rent had been built up before the start of the UK’s national lockdown on 23 March.

“This is very welcome news for those landlords whose tenants had stopped paying rent months prior to the pandemic,”: said Paul Shamplina, founder of landlord and tenant solicitors’ firm Landlord Action. “who, until now, had been given carte blanche to continue living rent free. However, there are concerns about how long it will take those landlords, whose arrears cases fall short of the government’s definition of ‘substantial’ - ie, nine months, to regain possession.”

The eviction ban started in March and ended in September, only to be reinstated in areas classified as Covid risk Tier 2 or Tier 3.

Sky Blue Homes will keep landlords and tenants updated as new statements are made and changes are made to the current eviction ban as it stands.