Possession Proceedings - The Stay Continues

As readers may be aware, there has been a continuing stay on possession proceedings during the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, this stay was contained within a Practice Direction to the Civil Procedure Rules.

However, yesterday (14th June 2020), the Government passed The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020, which come into force on 25th June 202 and extend the stay until the 23rd August 2020.

The extension also adds the stay until the Civil Procedure Rules themselves, at Rule 55.29.

This emergency legislation continues the existing stay on all possession proceedings except for very specific cases such as trespassers and claims for injunctive relief.

It is also confirmed that time does not run during this period for the purpose of limitation periods.

For the majority of people, this means that landlords cannot begin the court process to evict tenants for another 2 months, giving tenants more security in these uncertain times.