The impact of Corona Virus on the Property Market

Since the start of “lockdown” government imposed restrictions have meant that estate agents and lettings have been unable to carry out viewings, the general public have been told they must not move house and tenants and landlords alike have been confused over whether evictions and rent holidays will be taking place or not.

There has been speculation back and forth as to whether the lockdown will have an impact on the UK housing market and in truth, those suggesting it will be too short lived to have an impact are probably hoping we don’t talk ourselves into a housing market slump, if not crash.

The first hit to the industry was the realisation that lockdown meant no viewings. To overcome this Rightmove and other platforms have enabled virtual tours, which is a clever move but for smaller independent firms, it is difficult to adapt to quickly, in a way that larger more established firms do not find. Couple this with government advice telling the population to delay any house moves, the market has little place to move other than down.

House Vault (www.housevault.co.uk) have shown a steady decline in both new listings and sales. The problem here is that the longer the lockdown rules apply, the more likely the larger players in the industry will gain market share as they adapt and snap up areas of the market that becomes available as a result of smaller and independent property agents closing their doors for good.

It is a very uncertain time for the property industry and it is likely that as estate agents furlough their staff, more agents will look to become independent agents signing up with companies such as eXp (https://exp-uk.co.uk). The property industry will be a very different one post Covid-19, and hopefully this wont be one where it is only the bigger industry players that survive.

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Corona Virus Act 2020 - An update for Landlords and Tenants

By Jessica Tabibi • 15 Apr, 2020

Are you a landlord unsure of how the Corona Virus Act 2020 affects you? Below we outline the key points you need to watch out for. 1. Changes to current private landlord and tenant law Under the Housing Act 1988, any notice issued under section 8 or 21 must provide notice of not less than 3 months. Previously, the requirement for section 8 was 2 weeks and section 21 was 2 months. 2. Evictions Despite discussions and the governments promise to ban evictions during the three month period, this new legislation does not ban private landlords from serving notice seeking possession or from issuing proceedings within the Relevant Period. 3. Rent a. There is an expectation that Landlords and Tenants should work out an arrangement if they can not pay rent during this period, and an affordable payment plan should be agreed, yet there is no Pre-Action protocol in place for landlord and tenant proceedings. b. Rent due during the period, whether an agreement is in place, remains as rent legally due. c. Under schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 the grounds for recovering possession are unchanged. 4. Notices already served If you served a notice before 26th March 2020, you will be unaffected by the Corona Virus Act 2020. Once they have expired, you may issue proceedings. Also unaffected by the Act are possession orders, which remain enforceable. This means that you may make the application for warrant of possession however, be aware that courts are cancelling bailiff appointments that are already scheduled and not carrying out evictions. With this in mind, it is important to understand that many courts are adjourning hearings until later in the year. This will mean that there will likely be further delays to evictions, which are currently not allowed by many courts, and a delay to the rescheduling of the hearings due to the high number scheduled due to Corona Virus. If you would like further information, or you have a query on the impact of Corona Virus on you as a Landlord or tenant, please get in touch via the button below.