The UK currently enforces two tenant eviction bans, both of which were extended in June.
For residential tenants the ban will last until the end of August after a two-month extension, while commercial tenants have seen the ban lengthened by three months until the end of September.
Clearly this is a difficult time for tenants, as many have been impacted by circumstances outside of their control, so you can understand why the government has stepped in to give them protections.
But you do have the nagging worry that we’ll see a raft of eviction notices take place once these bans expire (assuming they aren’t extended again) in August and September.
Focusing on residential evictions, not only is it more likely some landlords aren’t receiving rent due to people losing their jobs, we’ll effectively have a five-month backlog of evictions to deal with – which would result in a spike in eviction notices at the best of times.
Unless tenants and landlords are able to come to an agreement the eviction ban may simply result in the can being kicked down the road, rather than solving the issue of tenants not paying the rent.
Speaking of which, a couple of months ago I received an email from a concerned landlord who said they were struggling with a tenant who wasn’t paying rent prior to this eviction ban starting.
I do feel some sympathy for people in these extreme cases – and you wonder whether landlords should be able to claim compensation from the government if they’ve literally had no rent for six months.
In any case the current situation has highlighted how important it is to properly vet your tenants before they sign a contract. How’s their credit rating? Do they have good references? What’s their rental history?
Currently we’re in uncharted territory, and not everybody has been able to use the furlough scheme, but it’s always a good idea to get an indication of the behavioural aspects of tenants before they sign a contract.
Good tenants will work with landlords to pay down their arrears, and provided they are communicating effectively you should definitely try and find a solution to help them pay down their debts – evictions should be a last resort.
Landlords using buy-to-let mortgages can take a payment holiday, but they’ll still need to pay off their debts in the end, so you’d hope the same is the case with their tenants.
Touching on commercial tenants again, last week’s launch of the Code of Practice gave some welcome clarity. It suggested that tenants and landlords should renegotiate rent where possible, as well as consider whether a rent free period can be agreed.
Hopefully companies can find mature ways of dealing with the current circumstances, and we won’t see our courts clogged up with landlords attempting to evict tenants in the months ahead.
Ryan Bembridge, Editor, PropertyWire
