Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support landlords unable to evict problem tenants responsible for repeated anti-social behaviour during the covid-19 outbreak.

The suspension of possession proceedings ended on 20 September and landlords can now progress possession claims through the courts. The most egregious cases, such as those involving anti-social behaviour, will be prioritised by the courts.

Additionally, as of 29 August, Coronavirus legislation extending the minimum notice period that must be given before a possession claim can be lodged in court was amended so that in the most serious circumstances, minimum notice period requirements have returned to what they were before COVID. This means that for claims relating to anti-social behaviour, the minimum amount of notice that a landlord must give has returned to four weeks. And for some discretionary grounds relating to nuisance/immoral or illegal use of the property, cases may now be progressed to court as soon as notice is given.

However, in order to further protect renters over winter, the Government has asked bailiffs not to carry out evictions in areas where gatherings are not allowed in homes. Bailiffs should not carry out evictions in tier 2 (high) and tier 3 (very high) local COVID alert areas. The Government is keeping this approach under review. In addition, the Government has issued guidance to bailiffs that they should not carry out evictions in the weeks leading up to and over Christmas other than in the most serious circumstances.

In parts of the country where bailiffs will not be carrying out evictions due to the need for stricter distancing, the police, local authorities and other local agencies will still be able to rely on the range of flexible tools and powers at their disposal to tackle anti-social behaviour, notably through the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.