Draft legislation on evictions ban just extends notice to three months.

[HeIenaDove]

FUCK SAKE!

Draft legislation on evictions ‘ban’ simply extends notice period to three months

NEWS
23/03/20
10:55 AM
BY PETER APPS

Draft legislation will simply extend the notice period for evictions from two months to three with landlords still able to serve notices on their tenants, Inside Housing can reveal

Twitter IHLegislation to ‘ban’ evictions simply extends notice period to three months #ukhousing
Twitter IHNew legislation will simply extend the notice period for evictions from two months to three, with landlords still able to serve notices on their tenants #ukhousing
Inside Housing has obtained a draft copy of the bill, which would cover England, and is set to go before the House of Commons today. The government had promised it would outlaw evictions in social and private housing during the coronavirus pandemic.

But the bill in fact simply extends the statutory notice period from two months to three for the vast majority of renters – meaning landlords can still serve notice and claim possession at the end of that period.

It also offers no protection to residents who can be evicted without notice – such as those in temporary housing or lodgers

One source said it was possible other draft bills are under consideration, and that this may not represent the final government plan. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) was contacted for comment.

No provision is made for rent arrears that will be built up during this period if people are unable to work. The government has previously said it would encourage landlords and tenants to agree “an affordable repayment plan” for these arrears.

The bill is unlikely to take effect before Friday at the earliest – raising the prospect of a slew of notices before this date. One expert described the measures as “pathetic”, and another source called them “complete crap”.

The bill – part of the government’s emergency coronavirus legislation package which will be debated today – will amend Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to change the notice period for ‘assured shorthold tenancies’ from two months to three months

These are the type of tenancies the overwhelming majority of private tenants are given, and ‘Section 21’ gives landlords the power to bring them to an end at the conclusion of the lease period, which usually lasts for six months to a year.

To do so, the landlord must serve two months’ notice but does not need to give a reason – a process known as ‘no-fault eviction’ and something the government had previously promised to abolish.

But the new law will simply extend this notice period from two months to three.

Regulated, or Rent Act, tenancies (typically private tenancies which began before 1989) will see the notice period increase from four weeks to three months. Secured and assured tenancies – typically for residents of council homes and housing associations – will also see notice periods extended to three months.

The bill will be in force until 30 September.

Governments for the other countries in the UK may bring forward different measures, with the Scottish government today saying no tenants would be evicted during the period

Update at 11.25am on 23.3.2020

This story was updated to make it clearer that it is possible other draft bills are being developed.

The line "One source said it was possible other draft bills are under consideration" was extended to read "One source said it was possible other draft bills are under consideration, and that this may not represent the final government plan. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) was contacted for comment."

Ive copied and pasted because i know not all on here have been
able to get into the IH site when ive linked it before If you click on the link though you will see a screenshot of the legislation.

Stephen Mackenzie
@SteveMcfirerisk
·
39m
@PeteApps

@insidehousing

@Shelter

@mhclg

Completely & utterly unacceptable!

I’ve just advised an NHS health practitioner to abandon her move forced by repossession proceedings due to
@BorisJohnson
mandate to self-isolate!

Get your act together
@GOVUK

• protect people now!

twitter.com/PeteApps/status/1242470494739353604?s=20

Peter Apps
@PeteApps
·
5h
"There can be no evictions as a result of coronavirus for three months"

What this means in practice is your landlord can serve notice to evict, wait three months and kick you out immediately. I do not think that is the protection people were hoping for.

inews.co.uk/news/coronavirus-uk-government-help-pay-rent-homes-tenants-outbreak-campaign-2513945?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=ijp&fbclid=IwAR2dnJH_C4N9RDUBAVgENBm5pBVDsQxldNQ9N0iWgwcYsdFIhp-jhSyplqY

Coronavirus in the UK: Government bill to help tenants pay rent during outbreak 'fails to deliver on every aspect'
Tenants will also be expected to strike up a rent arrears agreement with their landlord

By Jasmine Andersson
Tuesday, 24th March 2020

The government's bill to protect renters during the coronavirus outbreak "fails to deliver on every aspect," warn campaigners.

Renters will be protected by the government from eviction for the next three months, even if they cannot pay their rent, announced Prime Minister Boris Johnson during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.

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But scheduled amendments to the current Rent Act and Housing Act will still mean renters can be served notice, and would have to pay back their rent once the emergency measures are over, Inside Housing reported.

Landlords could serve notice during the outbreak
The draft bill scheduled for a reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday, will amend a clause in Section 21 of the Housing Act.

The government previously pledged to scrap Section 21, which gives landlords the right to evict tenants under a "no fault" clause, allowing them to evict tenants after they serve a two-month notice period. But these current plans mean the government has actually extended the statutory period to three months, giving landlords the right to serve notice during the outbreak, and evict tenants by June.

Residents who can currently be evicted without notice, such as those in temporary housing or lodgers, will also be exempt from the amendment to the bill.

Tenants will also be expected to strike up a rent arrears agreement with their landlord if they fail to pay rent after losing their job or earning significantly less during the outbreak, leaving renters at the mercy of the property owner.

Caitlin Wilkinson, Policy Manager at Generation Rent, said: "This legislation fails to deliver on these promises in every respect. All these measures do is extend the notice period for evictions to three months, which will provide little comfort to those faced with losing their homes in the midst of a pandemic. Equally worrying is the lack of provision made for rent arrears, which will stack up in the three month period.

"Many renters will end up with thousands of pounds worth of debt and no means of paying it off. Landlords and tenants are expected to 'work together' to find a solution to suit both parties from June onwards - but there's absolutely nothing to stop landlords from evicting tenants if they can't pay. Eviction is the leading cause of homelessness, so the Government must act now to avoid another crisis in three months' time.

Absolute nonsense'
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government called the criticisms "absolute nonsense," and said the legislation "guarantees" that no tenant will be forced out of their home.

A spokesperson from the government department told i: “We have made a clear commitment to renters, and the claim that we are rowing back on it is absolute nonsense.

Our emergency legislation will guarantee no tenant is forced out of their home – in either the social sector or the private rented sector – for at least the next 3 months. No possession proceedings from new notices will start during this time, and we have the power to extend this notice period if necessary.”

At the same time, this Government is supporting renters through guaranteeing to pay 80 per cent of employee’s wages, if their employer cannot afford to pay them while they are on temporary leave, and increased housing benefit. We have been clear we will do whatever is needed to support people at this difficult time.”

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/25/homeless-travelodge-residents-turned-out-on-to-street-coronavirus

Homeless Travelodge residents turned out on to street
Families asked to leave hotels due to coronavirus, in apparent defiance of guidance

Hundreds of residents of the budget hotel chain Travelodge, including homeless families housed there by local councils, have been turned out on to the street after it closed its premises.

The chain issued letters to all residents on Tuesday asking them to leave as soon as possible as they were “temporarily closing the hotels until further notice” in the light of the UK government’s extended coronavirus physical distancing guidelines issued on Monday.

This appeared to be in defiance of government guidance issued the same day that said that hotels looking after homeless families who had been placed in temporary accommodation at in hotels should not close.

The closure led to chaos and dismay among families and local authority homelessness workers.

Anthony Morson
@tonymorson
@TravelodgeUK. Heathrow #travelodge this morning. Two knocks on the door... two hours to leave... and two more nights left on booking. No explanation and no response to families begging for help with kids in strollers. Evicted onto street in pandemic.. irresponsible and immoral twitter.com/zimzz/status/1

Shaz C
@Zimzz
Madness!! Travelodge Bromley are closing. My disabled daughter is there, paid for
by Lewisham, while suitable accom is found!! They have told her to leave by 2pm!! Where is she supposed to go?? This is how the vulnerable are treated??@EddieNestorMBE @BBCLondonNews

26
7:38 PM - Mar 24, 2020
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A Spelthorne council housing worker tweeted: “Travelodge gave us four hours’ notice to find alternative accommodation for our clients. One was 84 years old. Luckily we managed to find other rooms by the skin of our teeth. Now no backup for out of hours or hospital discharge if other hotel chains closed. This is only wk 1!

In Milton Keynes, reports suggested a dozen homeless people were at the council’s civic offices on Tuesday night after being ejected from rooms at local Travelodge and Jurys Inn hotels. “Nowhere will take anybody in because of the coronavirus risk. It is proving really difficult,” one homelessness worker told the MK Citizen website.

Chains such as Travelodge have made millions of pounds in recent years from local authorities by providing emergency accommodation for homeless families waiting to be placed in more suitable temporary accommodation.

An anonymous local authority housing officer tweeted: “This week/last week has been hell on earth. Housing Advice Services were drowning before coronavirus, now it is actually critical. Illegal evictions, loss of TA and families evicting in numbers I’ve never seen before. Loss of Travelodge is devastating.

Anthony Morson, who had been self-isolating at Heathrow Travelodge after flying in with his wife to see his father, who has leukaemia, told the Guardian he was asked to leave on Tuesday with just two hours’ notice.

Other residents who were turned out on to the streets included an Australian family with three children, contract workers at Heathrow, and an Asian family stuck in transit. Some residents told him they had been staying there for two years.

Morson said there were tense scenes at the reception, with some residents in tears as staff were unable to give any explanation for closing the hotel other than to say it was as a result of government guidance. They offered no advice about where else to go and no refunds were offered.

Morson, who was able to find a room at nearby hotel, said: “There was no advice, no explanation. They should have given people at least another night to try and find alternative accommodation. The whole thing was very peculiar.”

A spokesperson for Travelodge said: “Travelodge has been obliged to commence the temporary closure of its hotels in line with the instructions from the government on 24 March 2020. We do expect to remain open in selected critical locations across the country to support accommodation for emergency workers and other groups.

“We are reviewing daily which hotels are best positioned to support the needs that arise with the government while ensuring we comply with the new restrictions in place to protect the public.”

There are fears that closures of caravan parks will cause similar problems. A Northamptonshire site typically used by residents who have a second property abroad closed abruptly on Tuesday. Many class the UK caravan as their permanent home and live there for 10 months of the year but now cannot fly out to their second property.

On Tuesday night, the children’s commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, urged ministers to allow councils to requisition empty Airbnb properties as short-term rental blocks and hotels that had rooms with cooking facilities to put up homeless families .

In a letter to the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, she wrote: “The government needs to provide local authorities with the resources to source these homes and combined with a clear expectation that homes need to be sourced quickly. I would like to see this combined with clear messaging to landlords: co-operate or the government will act

It would be a particular disgrace to have closed down apartments – many run by businesses which will be receiving government funds in the next few months – while close by families are homeless.

‘‘I would urge you to commit that any hotel or property business receiving government support, or wage subsidies, in the next few months will have to commit to housing families at cost. If local authorities are supported by the government with both resourcing and clear messaging I believe we can get these families a decent home to call their own – at least for the next four months.”

According to the housing lawyer Giles Peaker, Travelodge originally said it would close on Thursday, giving residents – who also include tourists and key workers – enough time to try to find other accommodation

On his blog, Peaker said: “This needs urgent national-level intervention. For all that I might criticise councils for putting people into basic hotels and then leaving them there for long periods, we all know the huge pressures on the availability of temporary and emergency accommodation for council homeless units. Past this immediate crisis of today, there will be virtually no emergency accommodation for homeless applicants.”