Say it quietly, but things are about to get back to – dare we say it – ‘normal’.

The Government has confirmed that notice periods for evictions in England will return to normal on the 1st October, just as has been planned.

What’s that you say?

No more rolling extensions?

Thankfully, no, but it has been warned that similar measures could be reintroduced should the pandemic worsen at some point in the future.

For some time now, the notice period that landlords have had to give to tenants they intend to evict (Under a Section 21 or Section 8 Notice) has been six months, but this is about to change.

As of October 1st, the notice period will return to two months, something which will be welcome news to the thousands of landlords who have had their hands tied for 18 months, since the Government introduced emergency measures as part of the Coronavirus Act 2020.

Here’s what the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government had to say on the matter:

“While these measures were appropriate at the height of the pandemic, these restrictions could only ever be temporary.

Returning notice periods to their pre-COVID lengths from 1 October will allow landlords to repossess their property where necessary.”

Whilst this is definitely welcome news, a clause has been inserted which would allow the protection measures to be reinstated all the way up to the 25th March 2022, should the situation worsen and a reintroduction become necessary.

What’s clear is that many landlords will be keen to proceed with evictions, with many claiming that they now want to ‘sell up’, and who can blame them after the last year and a half?

What remains to be seen is how well the courts deal with an expected increase in demand for evictions.

Will the resumption of normal service see a sharp increase in the number of evictions?

It looks likely, and #TeamCES will be on hand to assist our clients, making sure we identify genuine vulnerability, always proceeding in the most effective way possible.