Ban on bailiff evictions extended until end of March

The announcement from housing secretary Robert Jenrick means eviction notices can't be given until 1 April. The Government had already extended the the ban from 11 January 2021 to 21 February 2021 before extending it further to this new deadline. For further details see our Coronavirus Finance and Bills Help guide.

Landlords are required to give six-months' notice to tenants before starting possession proceedings, except in the most serious circumstances. This means most renters served notice from 1 April onwards can stay in their homes until at least 1 October 2021. The idea is to give people time to find alternative support or accommodation.

But exemptions to this six-month notice period remain in some circumstances, such as illegal occupation, anti-social behaviour and arrears of six months’ rent or more. Here, notice periods vary - for example, if you've used the property illegally you can be given immediate notice to leave, while if you've got six months of arrears you have four weeks. The temporary ban on evictions also doesn't apply in these cases as eviction hearings restarted in England and Wales in September 2020.

Scotland and Wales have already introduced similar measures banning eviction orders until 31 March 2021, while in Northern Ireland, landlords need to give 12 weeks' notice before eviction.