The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 5) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 came into force on 22 August 2020. This amended CPR 55.29, by extending the stay on possession claims until 20 September 2020.

Whilst that stay has now expired, we are still experiencing a delay in having possession claims listed and heard. We are finding that many courts (after receiving a Reactivation Notice) are holding Review Hearings for possession matters, mostly on paper, before listing Substantive Hearings.

In any event, The Public Health (Coronavirus) (Protection from Eviction and Taking Control of Goods) (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 17 November 2020 which prohibits the execution of warrants/writs of possession or the delivery of notices of eviction, until 11 January 2021, with some limited exceptions.

The limited exceptions include claims based on trespass, anti-social behaviour, nuisance, death of the former tenant, and false statements which induced the granting of the tenancy. A further exception, which is of particular note, is that evictions are permitted to proceed if the possession order was granted based on ‘substantial rent arrears’ – being defined within the Regulations (at Regulation 2 (4)(a)) as at least 9 months’ worth of arrears outstanding on the date on which the possession order was made and those arrears having accrued prior to 23 March 2020.

In summary, it is unlikely that many Substantive Possession Hearings will take place before the New Year and very few possession orders will be enforced.

If you need any further information, please contact us.