Renting a residential property – landlord and tenant FAQ

Renting a residential property (for landlords)

What am I able to do if my tenant is not paying his/her rent [as a result of the coronavirus pandemic]?

The government has introduced a package of measures to protect tenants during the coronavirus pandemic. One of those measures is that landlords must give all tenants up to six months’ notice if they intend to seek possession – depending on the grounds under which you are seeking possession. This measure includes assured shorthold tenancies.

The length of notice period that should be given changes depending upon the grounds for the notice, but range from no notice (i.e proceedings can be issued immediately) to six months. Please contact us for advice if you are intending to serve a s.8 Notice.

Where notice is given without specifying a ground – a ‘no-fault’ or section 21 notice – you must currently give a minimum of six months’ notice that you intend to seek possession of the property.

What this means in practice is that tenants are still liable to pay the rent, regardless of the reason for non-payment. However, if a tenant falls behind with their rent payments as a result of coronavirus or any other reason, you cannot progress possession proceedings before the appropriate notice period has expired.

Prior to 28 August 2020, consideration was given to whether rent arrears had accrued during or previously to the start of the first lockdown. The current measures permit landlords to give at least four weeks’ notice where there are more than six months’ rent arrears at the date of the notice AND at the date of any possession proceedings.

Where there are more than six months’ rent arrears outstanding and a Court order for possession has been obtained on that basis, you can instruct a Court appointed bailiff to evict your tenant. Please note that this only applies where the appropriate s.8 notice has been served. Save for certain other exceptions for orders made in respect of serious issues, you cannot currently instruct a bailiff to evict your tenant.

This means that is now possible obtain a Court order for possession in relation to rental arrears accrued during the various lockdowns. However you cannot currently evict a tenant once an order for possession has been obtained, except in certain serious circumstances, which includes where there are more than six months’ rent arrears owing at the point of the notice AND at the point of the hearing.

These measures are currently in place until 31 May 2021.

Landlords are being encouraged to be as supportive and flexible as possible. Where possible you should look to discuss any issues with your tenant prior to taking legal action.

Should you not be able to reach an agreement with your tenant and proceedings are issued, the Court process is now longer and more cumbersome. The Court will set a date on which the tenant and his or her legal representative (or the duty solicitor) will be required to discuss the issue(s) with you which have led to proceedings being issued and try and reach a settlement.

The Court will have regard to COVID related hardships suffered by either party as far as it is able to. Consequently, if non-payment of rent is having an effect on your ability to pay your mortgage or effecting your financial stability in other ways, you should make this clear in the claim form.

The Government have confirmed that these processes and procedures in relation to possession proceedings will be in place until at least 31 July 2021.

Are there any circumstances in which I can I evict a tenant without obtaining a Court order?

Under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, you cannot force a tenant to leave your property without a Court order AND writ or warrant of execution of that order. The 1977 Act also protects some people who occupy a property under a licence.

It is unlawful to evict and tenant or licensee from your property without a Court order. If you evict or try to evict a tenant without a Court order OR without instructing a Court appointed bailiff then you are very likely to be committing a criminal offence. You should seek legal advice before taking any action in relation to evicting a tenant.

Currently in England there is legislation in place to prevent bailiffs from serving eviction notices or carrying out evictions, except in the most serious cases which includes where there are more than six months’ rent arrears owing at the point of the notice AND at the point of the hearing. This legislation is currently in place until 31 May 2021.

I am landlord of several properties and am worried about my legal obligations to provide regular gas and electrical safety inspections. Will I be prosecuted if I can’t get access because I or my tenants are self-isolating due to COVID-19?

Gas safety

Since 1998, landlords in England and Wales have been under a general duty to ensure that any relevant gas fitting or flue serving the gas fitting is maintained in a safe condition. This is to prevent the risk of injury to any person in lawful occupation of the relevant premises.

In addition to that general duty, the landlord must:

• ensure that each appliance and flue is checked for safety within 12 months before a lease commences, or within 12 months of instalment, whichever is the later;
• thereafter to undertake safety checks at intervals of not more than 12 months;
• ensure that those checks are undertaken by a person approved by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE); and
• adhere to requirements in relation to documenting these checks and providing copies of documentation to the tenants.

Electrical safety

For most residential tenancies granted after 1 July 2020 in England, there will be new duties in relation to electrical safety, which must be carried out before the tenancy commences. They include:

• ensuring that specified electrical safety standards are met for any period when the residential premises are occupied under a specified tenancy;
• ensuring that every electrical installation in the premises is inspected and tested at regular intervals by a qualified person (regular intervals means intervals of no more than five years unless more frequent intervals have been specified on an earlier inspection); and
• adhering to requirements regarding the documentation of these checks and providing copies to tenants.

These requirements do not currently apply to properties in Wales.

The coronavirus pandemic does not reduce or otherwise affect the need for landlords to comply with the gas and electrical requirements set out above. It remains the case that failure to comply with these requirements can result in serious consequences, including the landlord being prosecuted.

However, the government is conscious that some tenants will not be comfortable with inspections being carried out at this time. As such, the government is encouraging local authorities and other enforcement agencies to take a pragmatic, common-sense approach to enforcement in these unprecedented times. Read the latest guidance for landlords and Gas Safe engineers and inspectors from the HSE.

If you are not able to gain access to the property due to restrictions in place to tackle COVID-19, or you are not able to engage a contractor to carry out the necessary work, it is important that you document your attempts to do so. You should keep copies of all emails and other forms of correspondence, as well as notes of all telephone calls between you and contractors and/or the tenants, in order to provide evidence of your attempts to comply with your obligations.

Renting a residential property (for tenants)

I am renting a property under an assured shorthold tenancy agreement, but I am worried about my job security. What are the implications for my tenancy if I lose my job as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and become unable to pay my rent?

The government has introduced a package of measures to protect tenants during the coronavirus pandemic. However, these primarily give tenants additional time before proceedings can be issued and before evictions can be carried out. None of these measures mean that you no longer have to pay rent.

One of the measures in place is that landlords must give all renters up to six months’ notice if they intend to seek possession – depending on the grounds under which they seeking possession. This measure includes assured shorthold tenancies.

Where a landlord is giving notice without specifying a ground – a ‘no-fault’ or section 21 notice – they must currently give a minimum of six months’ notice that they intend to seek possession of the property.

It is important to note that prior to 28 August 2020, consideration was given to whether rent arrears had accrued during or previously to the start of the first lockdown. The current measures permit landlords to give at least four weeks’ notice where there are more than six months’ rent arrears at the date of the notice AND at the date of any possession proceedings. This means that is now possible to be evicted if you paid rent in full before the pandemic but have not been able to pay lately due to COVID.

These measures are currently in place until 31 May 2021,

Landlords are being encouraged to be as supportive and flexible as possible. If you are worried about your ability to pay your rent, you should speak to your landlord as soon as possible. They may agree to accept a lower rent in the short term or may even agree a rent-free period.

Should you not be able to reach an agreement with your landlord and proceedings are issued, the Court process, from a landlord’s perspective, is now longer and more cumbersome. The Court will set a date on which you and your legal representative (or the duty solicitor) will be required to discuss the issue(s) which have led to proceedings being issued and try and reach a settlement. The Court will have regard to COVID related hardships suffered by either party as far as it is able to. These changes to the Court process are to be in place until at least 31 July 2021.

If you are unable to reach an agreement with your landlord and/or proceedings are issued, you should seek urgent legal advice from a solicitor and/or a specialist organisation such as Shelter or the Citizens Advice.

I am renting out my flat whilst caring for my parents. My tenant has lost her job and has asked me if I would agree to temporarily reduce the rent whilst she looks for new employment. I am happy to do this. Do I need to put a formal agreement in place?

There is no requirement for you to have a formal agreement, but it would make sense to document the details of the rent reduction in (at least) a chain of emails so that you have a record. Above all else, it is important to agree the exact details of the deal – what is the new reduced rent, when does the reduced rent start to become payable, how long are you reducing it for etc. That way, you can try to reduce the risk of any future dispute.

Do I have to move if my landlord does not have a court order?

Under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, it is unlawful for your landlord to evict you without a court order AND writ or warrant of execution of that order. The 1977 Act also protects some people who occupy their home under a licence.

At the moment, a landlord who has a Court order for possession cannot instruct a bailiff to serve an eviction notice or carry out an eviction, unless that Court order has been given in the most serious of cases. That includes where there are more than 6 months of arrears outstanding at the date of the notice and at the date of the hearing. This legislation is currently in place until 31 May 2021

Any landlord who evicts you or tries to evict you without a Court order OR without instructing a Court appointed bailiff is behaving unlawfully and most likely committing a criminal offence. You should seek urgent legal advice (and if you feel that you are at risk of harm, telephone the police) if your landlord takes steps to evict you and you are unsure whether they have followed the proper procedure.

Even where the 1977 Act does not apply a landlord cannot use violence or threat of violence to evict someone. The government has introduced a package of measures to protect tenants during the COVID-19 outbreak. One of those measures is that landlords must give all renters up to six months’ notice (depending upon whether the notice is a s.21 ‘no-fault’ notice and the grounds specified in a s.8 notice if they intend to seek possession).

The current Government guidance to landlords is that they should seek to engage with tenants to resolve any issues without the need for proceedings There is particular emphasis on this where there are rent arrears accrued due to financial hardships suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. If proceedings are issued and an order for possession has been made by the Court, a landlord can request the Court give a warrant for possession if the tenant does not leave by the date specified in the order. This can be then used by a bailiff to evict the tenant.