Section 8 must now include details of Breathing Space scheme
Rushed changes made to evictions legislation have meant from today (May 4th) Section 8, and it has been advised all eviction procedures, must include details of the government’s ‘Breathing Space’ scheme or face the risk of the eviction being rejected.
IMPORTANT NEWS RE EVICTIONS AND EVICTIONS PROCEDURE
Rushed changes made to evictions legislation have meant from today (May 4th) Section 8, and it has been advised all eviction procedures, must include details of the government’s ‘Breathing Space’ scheme or face the risk of the eviction being rejected. This is a debt respite scheme full details of which can be found if you Click Here.
Housing minister, Christopher Pincher, inserted an amendment into The Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (Moratorium Debt) (Consequential Amendment) (England) Regulations 2021 >> https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/518/contents/made
There are two types of breathing space that a tenant may enter, a standard breathing space and a mental health crisis breathing space.
Creditors (landlords) are not allowed to contact tenants directly to request payment of the debt or take enforcement action to recover the debt (including by taking possession of a property) for a maximum of 60 days. For a mental health crisis breathing space, the Breathing Space only ends 30 days after the tenant’s treatment ends.
Debtors can only access a breathing space by seeking debt advice from a debt adviser. Anyone who cannot or is unlikely to be able to repay their debts can apply to a debt adviser for a standard breathing space. Although all applications must be considered, the debt adviser might decide a breathing space is not appropriate for a debtor.
The Breathing Space is designed to give debtors time to restructure their finances rather than rushing into even more costly loan arrangements. However, it has been indicated that a tenant should still pay their rent during this period.
Once a tenant has entered into a breathing space you must not until it has finished:
Contact the tenant directly in relation to the debt
Obtain a warrant in relation to the debt
Serve a notice seeking possession because of the debt
Sell on the debt to a third party
Charge interest on the debt over the period covered by the breathing space
Apply for a judgement in relation to the debt
Enforce an existing money judgement for the debt
Take control of the tenant’s belongings during the breathing space
Request third party deductions from Universal Credit or other benefits
Start bankruptcy proceedings
Tim Frome of Landlord Action said: “Anyone who serves a notice using the incorrect template runs the risk of having their case thrown out on a technicality. With six-month notice periods in place at the moment this could be a very expensive mistake.
“This further highlights why landlords should use a Solicitors Regulation Authority regulated and authorised law firm such as Landlord Action to serve possession notices.”
If you require help or assistance please call James Allen directly on 01761 412300 / 07773 412300 or email james@allen-residential.co.uk
