“I hope you are all staying safe at this difficult time.

“I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what we are doing during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Safer Housing to continue working and delivering our service to you. We are working hard to keep any disruption to a minimum.

“In this newsletter you will find lots of information, support and guidance for landlords during this pandemic. We are aware that some landlords may be having a tough time at the moment, with the loss of rental income and other financial difficulties. We are listening and would encourage you to make contact with us if this is affecting you and your ability to make an application for a licence.

“We also have range of advice available on our website during the pandemic, with some targeted specifically to offer housing advice for landlords, businesses and the self-employed. https://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/coronavirus/”

“I wanted to update you on the changes to the Safer Housing team during this time. Whilst we have a legal obligation to make sure that homes are to a safe standard, the Government has also given us guidance on how to maintain our essential work and how we prioritise cases.

“In keeping with the government’s guidance, we are exercising social distancing and our safer housing team has moved to mostly home working. If you should need to contact us you can find details of how to do so in this newsletter.

 “We have done things like changing the way we inspect homes, we are using more video chat and images to look at issues, we are supporting tenants with illegal eviction issues and we are still here to help with problems that landlords may have with tenants.

"We are able to continue taking your telephone calls, answering your emails and processing your applications. So rest assured that we are working hard and are still here if you need us.”

As mentioned, there are some big changes in the way the Safer Housing and Licensing Teams are working.

We still have a legal obligation to licence properties, stop illegal evictions and work to make sure that standards are maintained in properties – it's just the way we do some of these has changed, as has the way to contact us. Find out the best way to get in touch here.

It's illegal for landlords to evict tenants without following the proper steps.

Illegal eviction is a criminal offence - coronavirus doesn't change this.

It's likely to be an illegal eviction if landlords:

• Make tenants leave without notice and a court order
• lock tenants out of their home, even temporarily

The Government has announced a new law, which says landlords will have to give all renters 3 months’ notice if they intend to seek possession (i.e. serve notice that they want to end the tenancy) – this means the landlord can’t apply to start the court process until after this period. This extended buffer period will apply in law until at least 30 September 2020 and both the end point, and the three month notice period can be extended too if needed.

After three months if the tenant has not moved a landlord needs to apply to court in order to proceed.

Latest information on evictions here.

Tenants are still liable for their rent and should pay this as usual. If they face financial hardship and struggle to pay this, support is available for them.

Firstly, tenants should speak to their landlord if they’re struggling to pay rent and see if they might be entitled to Housing Benefit 

Landlords are being asked to be sympathetic especially if tenants have lost their job or seen their income reduce suddenly. The Government are encouraging tenants and landlords to work together to put in place a rent payment scheme.

Buy to let landlords may get mortgage payment holidays if their tenants have financial problems due to coronavirus.  

We are aware that some landlords will be having a tough time at the moment, with the loss of rental income and other financial difficulties. We are listening and would encourage them to make contact with us if this is affecting them and their ability to make an application.

You can read about the specific measure the Government have in place to help here.