The small claims process provides litigants with a procedure that can be used to bring low value claims. It is important to be aware that whilst the “small claims court” is often referred to, there is in fact no separate court for small claims. Instead, “small claims court” is used to describe the procedure that
Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, has announced that the Government’s ban on eviction proceedings will be extended until 23rd August 2020. This is a two month extension which brings the moratorium on evictions to five months in total. Mr Jenrick tweeted “Eviction hearings will not be heard in courts until the end of August & nobody
Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, remote hearings in England and Wales were few and far between and the vast majority of hearings (whether civil, criminal or family) were heard face-to-face in court rooms up and down the country. This was the case whether the court was dealing with a short 10 minute possession claim,
The Coronavirus Act 2020 and introduction of a new practice direction in the court has had the effect of (i) increasing the notice period under s21 and s8 possession claims to three months (see Schedule 29 of Coronavirus Act 2020); and (ii) staying all possession claims (see paragraph 2 of CPR PD 51Z). In practice,
Protection from possible eviction has been a major concern for vulnerable tenants throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government previously announced that from 26 March 2020, under the Coronavirus Act 2020, landlords would have to give tenants 3 months’ notice if they intend to bring eviction proceedings. This buffer period will apply until 30 September 2020
The Coronavirus Act 2020, which is now in force, has introduced key measures providing protection to business tenants who may be struggling due to the outbreak of coronavirus. The key points for commercial landlords and tenants to be aware of are as follows. A right of re-entry or forfeiture The Coronavirus Act 2020 prohibits commercial
The Coronavirus Bill is currently making its way through the House of Lords and it is hoped that it will be finalised later today. Under the proposed legislation, private landlords can continue to serve notice on tenants seeking possession of their rented properties under section 21 Housing Act 1988, but the notice period has now
The Government announced plans late last week to introduce emergency legislation with the primary aim of protecting individuals and families in rented accommodation who are affected by coronavirus. It was thought that the emergency legislation would introduce a complete prohibition on possession proceedings (ie eviction proceedings) for a period of three months whilst the country
The Government is introducing emergency legislation with the primary aim of protecting individuals and families in rented accommodation who are affected by coronavirus. This legislation follows the introduction of “mortgage payment holidays” of up to three months for struggling homeowners, and a similar scheme has now been replicated for landlords with buy-to-let mortgages in order
A property company has lost its appeal against a tribunal ruling that it had failed to correctly calculate the level of service charges payable by leaseholders. The case involved a mixed commercial and residential development owned by Avon Ground Rents Ltd. The leaseholders were contractually obliged to contribute through a service charge to the cost