Coalition keeps protection against eviction for tenants

The Painsmith blog has news that the new government will be keeping protection for tenants when landlords fail to pay their mortgages.

Before the Act, if the landlord had not obtained permission to let from their mortgage lender and then failed to keep up mortgage payments, the tenant had no protection from repossession: they could be thrown out of their homes with little or no notice.

Under the Act, tenants can request a two month stay on an order for possession by the mortgage lender. If they will not grant the stay in writing, the tenant may apply to court for the same stay. The court isn't obliged to grant this; it will look at any breaches of the tenancy agreement before doing so, and may order the tenant to pay rent to the mortgage issuer rather than the landlord. (Tenants, therefore, be aware: stopping paying your rent because you're worried about your landlord's mortgage is likely to cause you more problems.)

The Act will come into force in October 2010.

photo credit: Harshil.Shah