Evictions court system on brink of closure, warns expert

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Guidance from Lord Chief Justice and soon-to-be enacted Coronavirus legislation both mean landlords have a very small window to complete ongoing evictions.

The
Section 8 evictions court system is continuing but is on the brink of being
shut down, Landlord Action has warned.

As we reported last week, Blackpool County Court was the first to follow the Lord Chief Justice’s guidance on court hearings and adjourn all new eviction proceedings.

It has now been followed by Wigan (pictured), Dartford, Medway and Barnet with others likely to follow today.

Most
possession hearings are dealt with as a block by individual courts on set days
and only last ten minutes each.

It
is usually not possible to hold these remotely, as cases cannot be individually
scheduled and legal teams would have to be made available at courts for tenants
to appear in person, should they wish to do so.

“We are aware that courts are now making individual decisions to vacate block hearings and adjourn ALL possession hearings,” says Paul Shamplina of Landlord Action.

“If
ever there was a time to try and engage with your tenant it’s now. Many tenants
are being laid off, so ask for some documentary proof of this.

Something
not nothing

“If
you can arrange to reduce the rent, then my recommendation is to get something
rather than nothing and sort out a payment plan and work with your tenant,
maybe hopefully sustain a better relationship which may lead to them staying
put long term.

“We
have been serving notices at Landlord Action, but any day now the courts will
stop issuing the claims when the planned three-month freeze become law.

The
government’s Health Protection (Coronavirus, Business Closure) (England)
Regulations 2020 are now before parliament, which include its evictions
extension proposals.

“During
this time, having an empty property is not ideal, as we do not know how long
this crisis will last and if a tenant has unfortunately caught the virus, they
should not face eviction,” says Shamplina.

“If a landlord is affected, they need to speak to their mortgage company as soon as possible to see if they can arrange a mortgage holiday to take the pressure off. We will come out of this, it is temporary.”

Read a guide to the evictions process.

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