There’s some good news for landlords as the stay on possession proceedings comes to an end on 24 August and applications for bailiff warrants will also be dealt with from that date.
The stay on possessions claims will not be automatically removed. Landlords must file with the Court a reactivation notice in respect of any claim issued by the Court before 3 August 2020, whether the claim is based on rent arrears, breach of tenancy or a Section 21 notice.
There is currently no prescribed reactivation form for landlords to use. Any notice will need to include details of the parties, the case number and the location of the Court. It must also confirm whether the landlord wishes the case to be listed, relisted, heard or, in the case of a claim brought under Section 21, referred to a Judge.
If a landlord is relying on rent arrears, then a rent statement covering the last two years must accompany the notice.
A landlord is expected to investigate whether coronavirus has had an impact on their tenants and to document what steps they have taken to contact the tenant to, for example, discuss repayment of rent arrears. The Court will expect to see information that a landlord has about the change of a tenant’s circumstances as a result of coronavirus, such as the financial effect on those that contribute to the household income, health (physical or mental) and the death of a relative or dependant.
Where a managing agent is involved, it’s important that the agent makes every attempt possible to contact the tenant and that each attempt is documented with a note of whether the contact was by letter/email or telephone/text.
The reactivation notice must be filed with the Court before a case can proceed but should not be sent to the Court prior to 24 August, which is when the stay comes to an end, as anything sent before that day may not be valid. Landlords and their agents should start making enquiries now so that the reactivation notice can be sent to the Court at the earliest opportunity.
