The Government has extended a ban on evictions by two months, meaning that tenants unable to their rent will not be forced from their homes before August.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced the extension of the emergency measures, put in place in March as the lockdown began, which bars landlords from carrying out eviction proceedings.
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The minister said: “I am announcing that the government’s ban on evictions will be extended for another two months. That takes the moratorium on evictions to a total of five months.
“Eviction hearings will not be heard in courts until the end of August and no-one will be evicted from their home this summer due to coronavirus.”
However, homelessness charities have warned that the stop-gap measure does nothing to help people hit by the crisis who face a growing mountain of debt – and the prospect of looming eviction proceedings later in the year.
Stop-gap measure
Shelter boss Polly Neate said: “The Government has reset the clock on the evictions ban, buying the families who were only weeks away from losing their homes a vital stay of execution. But it’s only a stop-gap.
“The ban hasn’t stopped people who’ve lost their jobs during this pandemic from racking up rent arrears. Even if they have a plan to pay them back, these debts will throw struggling renters straight back into the firing line of an automatic eviction as soon as the ban does lift.”
While struggling homeowners have been able to take mortgage holidays during the crisis, renters facing financial hardship have faced ever-growing debt as the lockdown has dragged on.
Dame Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Extending the pause on repossession action is important recognition from the Government that many renters are facing real hardship during the coronavirus outbreak, and will give thousands of people a welcome breathing space.
“But simply extending the pause of repossession is a sticking plaster, not a cure. People who have fallen behind on rent arrears and those who have been furloughed or lost their jobs will need the security of proper reform to the rules governing evictions.”
‘Kicking the can down the road’
Ms Neate added: “It’s critical that Robert Jenrick uses this extension wisely to change the law and properly protect renters.
“Judges must be given the power to stop people losing their homes because of coronavirus, otherwise the country will face a tidal wave of homelessness after the end of August. Sooner or later, the Government has to stop kicking the can down the road.”
Mr Jenrick said that the Government is also “working with the judiciary on proposals to ensure that when evictions proceedings do recommence, arrangements, including rules, are in place to assist the court in giving appropriate protections for those who have been particularly affected by coronavirus.”
