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Article – Landlords –v- COVID 19 (March 2022 Update)
My Article in February last year highlighted the ways in which Landlords had been hit hard by the emergency legislation known as the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020, which came into force on 6th April 2020.
The 2020 Act, amongst other things, increased the notice period to 6 months for a number of grounds for eviction, regardless of how long the tenant had been resident in the property or how high the arrears were for example. The changes were initially to remain in force until 30th September 2020, but that expiry date was extended to 31st March 2021 and again until the end of March 2022. We have all been waiting with bated breath to see what would happen next.
I’m pleased to report that on 29th March 2022, the Coronavirus (Scotland) Acts (Early Expiry of Provisions) Regulations 2022 comes into force, bringing an end to what many landlords feel have been excessive notice periods before tenants require to vacate their rented properties.
So, what do the 2022 Regulations do and what does it mean for landlords?
The Regulations stipulate that some of the changes made by the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 will expire on 30th March 2022.
The extended notice periods, including the 6 month notice period which has been used in most cases, will no longer apply. The original 28 day and 84 day notice periods will be reinstated, meaning that landlords can seek an order for eviction far quicker than they have been able to since April 2020.
Warning
Whilst this will be good news for many landlords, the 2022 Regulations stipulate that if a Notice was served on a tenant prior to 30th March 2022 the extended notice periods will still apply. In addition, you cannot simply send out a new Notice in exactly the same terms. If you try, the notice period cannot expire earlier than the notice period applicable to the existing notice.
Furthermore, the Regulations don’t go as far as to reinstate the mandatory grounds for eviction, nor do they get rid of the obligations placed upon landlords to issue pre-action information and take reasonable efforts to agree suitable payment plans.
The Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill is currently before the Scottish Parliament and seeks (amongst other things) to make the temporary changes noted above permanent. If the Bill comes into force, the Tribunal will have to consider, in every instance, whether it is reasonable to grant the eviction order, regardless of the ground used and landlords will have to continue to comply with the pre-action obligations introduced by the Rent Arrears Pre-Action Requirements (Coronavirus) Scotland Regulations 2020, or a version of them.
This has been an evolving environment and our lawyers have had to keep a constant eye on the legislation to ensure that we can properly advise our landlord clients. It looks like the law in this area will continue to evolve in the coming months, so we will just have to wait and see how things progress.
If you would like more information about our Landlord-Tenant services, please do not hesitate to contact Aaron Doran at our Litigation Department on 01224 332400. We will always aim to provide clear and understandable advice, taking account of the economic factors and risks involved in any litigation.
