Housing Law Practitioners’ Association calls on government to extend ban on evictions beyond 11 January 2021

Open letter to Secretaries of State for Housing and Justice says there is 'no logical or persuasive reason' why the measures put in place in March 2020 should not be put in place again

The Housing Law Practitioners' Association (HLPA) has called on the government to extend the ban on evictions beyond 11 January 2021.

NB - as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, most evictions are effectively on hold in England and Wales until 11 January 2021, while in Scotland a temporary ban on the enforcement of eviction orders currently runs until 22 January 2021

In an open letter to the Secretaries of State for Housing and Justice - Robert Jenrick and Robert Buckland - HLPA highlights that, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, possession claims were stayed to -

'... protect parties, advocates and court staff from the inherent dangers in conducting possession lists at court, as well as the unthinkable consequences of tenants and borrowers being made homeless.'

With a national lockdown in England announced on 4 January 2021, the HLPA says - 

'There is no logical or persuasive reason why the measures put in place in March 2020 should not be put in place again pending roll out of the vaccine.'

Accordingly, it calls on the government to act now and - 

• extend the moratorium on eviction beyond 11 January 2021;
• put the ‘everyone in’ policy on a formal footing so that councils are obliged to accommodate everyone at risk of rough sleeping, including those with no recourse to public funds; and
• put an immediate stay on possession proceedings.

In addition, pointing out that Mr Jenrick promised on 18 March 2020 that 'no renter who has lost income due to coronavirus will be forced out of their home', the HLPA also urges the government to -

• abolish section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 ('no-fault evictions') as promised in the government’s manifesto;
• suspend Ground 8 in Schedule 2 of the Act to allow judges to decide in rent arrears cases; and
• reform the benefits system to ensure that, at the very least, it acts as an effective welfare safety net.

HLPA's open letter to the Secretaries of State for Housing and Justice is available from hlpa.org.uk