Briefing: Lords Debate on the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020

As the eviction ban has come to an end and courts return to hearing possession claims, the unique instability of private renting requires government to act carefully to sustain tenancies and avoid unnecessary evictions and rising homelessness. The government has taken steps to assist renters, yet the problems renters face have not been solved. The new Civil Procedure Rules address the processes courts must follow when hearing possession cases, government must however go further and act to protect renters from eviction due to the impact of Covid.

While the procedure rules work to provide the courts with a framework for processing claims, they do nothing to help resolve the problems many renters are facing. Covid has hit private renters hard, with 322,000 falling into arrears since the pandemic. Before entering into the pandemic, we knew that 75% of private renting families with children already had no savings. The inherent insecurity of the private rented sector (PRS) means that any renters in difficulty risk losing their home; the financial impact of Covid could have dire consequences.