Landlords have expressed disappointment at the government decision to extend the ban on evictions by a further two months. 

It will be a further impetus to landlords leaving the market as confidence is at an all-time low according to the National Residential Landlords Association. 

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle says: “This decision means that some landlords will now be facing five months without receiving any rent as they can take no action against tenants who were not paying before the lockdown started. 

“It also means more misery for tenants and neighbours suffering at the hands of anti-social tenants and will also cause exceptional hardship for a number of landlords, including many who depend on their rental income to live, for which there is no assistance.

“We have every sympathy with tenants who face genuine difficulties because of a loss of income due to the coronavirus crisis and as our survey out tomorrow shows, nearly all landlords are working with tenants who are struggling to keep them in their home.

“It is important that the government sets out its plans for the market at the end of this one-time extension. A failure to do so will cause serious damage to the private rented sector as a whole.  

“It will ultimately be tenants who suffer as they will find it increasingly difficult to find affordable housing if landlords do not have the confidence that they will get their properties back swiftly in legitimate circumstances.”

The announcement about the ban being extended was made on Friday evening in a tweet by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick.

“We are suspending evictions from social and private rented accommodation by a further two months. Eviction hearings will not be heard in courts until the end of August and no one will be evicted from their home this summer due to Coronavirus” said the MP’s tweet.

In mid-March Jenrick said that agents and landlords could not start proceedings to evict tenants for at least a three-month period, in a bid to ensure renters do not worry about the threat of losing their home. That period was due to end in the final week of June.