The stay had meant that all claims for possession that were live in March could not be progressed and although new claims for possession could be issued, they also could not be progressed.   

From 21st September 2020 a Reactivation Notice will need to be served on any claims issued prior to 3rd August 2020 to enable them to be progressed.  Covid-19 markers can also be added to cases to try and prioritise the hearing of those cases where either the tenant or the landlord have been affected as a result of Covid-19. 

Over the course of the last six months there have been various changes to statutory notice periods that must be provided when serving either a Section 21 Notice (the notice a landlord must give to their tenant to begin the possession process) or a Section 8 Notice (the notice a landlord must give when seeking to end the tenancy agreement for a reason based on a circumstance where the landlord is entitled to possession, such as breach of agreement or rent arrears).  At present any Notices served relying upon Section 21 or Section 8 for rent arrears grounds where the arrears are less than six months, is six months.  If rent arrears are over six months, then a four-week notice period can be provided.   

There is going to be an influx of Reactivation Notices and claims being issued from the 21st September 2020.  Our Dispute Resolution Team specialises in housing matters and are here to assist in all aspects including serving Notices, checking the validity of any Notices served and the issue of possession proceedings dealing with the matter all the way up to and including obtaining a final Possession Order and issue of a Warrant, if necessary.   

Please contact us on [email protected]