Coronavirus Act 2020 – What does it mean to Residential Landlords & Tenants?

The Coronavirus Act 2020 brings into law some changes to the Landlord & Tenant legislation, and in particular the ability of a landlord to seek possession of both Commercial & Residential Premises.

These provisions will remain effective until at least 30 June 2020 for commercial Premises and 30 September 2020 for Residential Premises (“the Relevant Period”), but could be extended if the current situation does not improve.

The main points of this new legislation are:

• Any notice given to Quit premises or give up possession, must give a notice period of 3 months before court proceedings can be issued.
• The 3 month period will apply to Rent Act tenancies, Secured tenancies and Assured tenancies.

Although it did not make it into the Act, there was consideration given to the courts not permitting new possession claims to be issued or possession orders made or enforced during the Relevant Period.  It remains to be seen how the courts deal with matters on a practical level or if the legislation is changed to deal with this position. Judges have been reminded not to make orders that risk impacting public health and therefore possession orders are unlikely to be made for the time being.

If you have any questions or unsure about your situation, whether you are a landlord or a commercial tenant, please contact Michael Shapiro directly on [email protected] or 0207 822 2236.

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