It has been three weeks since the Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, put the ‘Cat amongst  the pigeons’ for landlords by extending the moratorium on possession orders which in turn has led to the implementation of Practice Direction 55C (PD55C) in order to assist with the transition between the stay of possession claims and the resumption of these. PD55C is intended to be in force until 28 March 2021.

PD55C aims to manage and regulate the plethora of cases that have accumulated during the lockdown,  and to deal with matters fairly and in a timely manner in accordance with the Overriding Objective, more particularly where the pandemic may have affected tenants’ circumstances.

The good news for landlords who have been struggling to manage tenancy breaches that are not COVID-19 related is that there is no further extension to the stay. The bad news is that PD55C requires additional steps to be taken by landlords and their solicitors before a landlord can get their case moving again, or before a landlord can issue a new claim.

As a result of the latest extension, no eviction (save against trespassers) will take place before 21 September and no possession claims will progress until the stay is lifted. Any possession claims issued by the courts before 20 September will be held by the court for listing post-20 September. There is of course no guarantee that the stay will not be extended further.

In this first part of our three-part series on evictions and the new transitional regime/ procedure, we shall be providing insights into the tips and traps for landlords to consider.

With regards to resuming stayed proceedings, a landlord must notify the court as well as the tenant of their desire to seek possession by providing a ‘written reactivation notice’. This is to avoid wasting time and encourages dealing with the most egregious cases first, such as cases of antisocial behaviour and rent arrears. For claims in which a notice is not filed and served by 4.00pm on 29 January 2021 – they will be subject to an automatic stay (PD 55C Para 2.6). Although there will be no sanctions applicable for not filing by this date. Hillary Cooper Law has put together a flowchart aimed at helping you navigate the labyrinthine deadlines and to-do’s – Please see the below flowchart– to access the several key dates and timelines for compliance with the transitional eviction procedures.

• If the notice is not filed at court and served on any defendant, the case will not be reactivated. Further the notice must include:

Details of the impact of COVID-19 on the defendant and their dependants.

If the claim is based on rent arrears, a statement of account for the past two years (or from the inception of the tenancy if less than two years) must be attached to the notice.

• For new cases, where a claim includes non-payment of rent, the particulars of claim must set out what knowledge (if any) the claimant has as to the effect COVID-19 has had on the defendant and their dependants.

If you would like to discuss this topic further, please contact Ms Joy Douglas, Head of our Property Litigation team at Hillary Cooper Law on 0207 627 9727.

By Joy Douglas & Elina Vlysidou – Hillary Cooper Law