Tenant evictions banned for two more months to stop renters getting booted out during coronavirus pandemic

MILLIONS of renters will be protected from eviction for another two months, ministers have announced.

Robert Jenrick said he was extending the ban on landlords booting tenants out to create “certainty and security” during the lockdown.

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The Housing Secretary said the government is clear no one should be kicked out of their home as a result of coronavirus.

He said: “We have provided an unprecedented package of support for renters during this pandemic.

“I am announcing that the Government’s ban on evictions will be extended for another two months.

"That takes the moratorium on evictions to a total of five months.

“Eviction hearings will not be heard in courts until the end of August and no-one will be evicted from their home this summer due to coronavirus.”

Ministers are also working on new rules to give people greater protections from evictions in the future.

Extending this ban will give people invaluable security in these turbulent times and work continues at pace to ensure vulnerable renters remain protected long after the ban ends.

Robert Buckland

They want courts to be able to protect Brits who may still be shielding from Covid-19 to not end up on the streets.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said: “Protecting vulnerable people has been our priority throughout this pandemic.

“Extending this ban will give people invaluable security in these turbulent times and work continues at pace to ensure vulnerable renters remain protected long after the ban ends.”

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “The government has reset the clock on the evictions ban, buying the families who were only weeks away from losing their homes, a vital stay of execution. But it’s only a stop-gap.

“The ban hasn’t stopped people who’ve lost their jobs during this pandemic from racking up rent arrears.

"Even if they have a plan to pay them back, these debts will throw struggling renters straight back into the firing line of an automatic eviction as soon as the ban does lift.