Before 21 February 2021, the government will need to decide whether or not to extend the current ban on tenant evictions.
Contained in the Public Health (Coronavirus) (Protection from Eviction) (England) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/15) the ban currently prohibits bailiffs from delivering a notice of eviction or executing a warrant of possession, save where certain exceptions apply: if the underlying possession was granted against trespassers, or was granted on grounds of anti-social behaviour, or the case involved arrears equivalent to six months’ or more rent.
Introduced during the second lockdown in November 2020, the present eviction ban is narrower than the original eviction ban made in March 2020, which did not merely limit bailiff attendance but also prohibited possession and eviction hearings.
Such hearings began again in the autumn and have continued through the present lockdown. The result is that a bottleneck has built up, with more suspended and outright possession orders being
