Section 48 and Schedule 18: Powers to act for the protection of public health: Northern Ireland Section 81 and Schedule 29: Residential tenancies in England and Wales: protection from eviction
This section and Schedule delays when landlords are able to evict tenants. It does this either by extending the notice period that a landlord is required to serve on a tenant to at least three months or, in some cases, creating a three months’ notice requirement where a requirement to give notice does not currently exist. The section does not prevent a landlord from serving a notice of intention to possess, nor does it end a tenant’s liability for rental payments.
	The Schedule applies to all landlords who have granted tenancies governed by the Rent Act 1977 and the Housing Acts 1985, 1988 and 1996. This covers all statutory tenants in the private and social rented sectors. It does not include common law tenancies or licenses (other than secure licenses).
	In most cases a landlord must provide notice of intention to seek possession of an assured, assured shorthold, secure, demoted or introductory tenancy. These provisions extend such notice periods to at least three months. They also add a requirement to give three months’ notice in respect of a fixed term secure tenancy. The Rent Act 1977 does not require a notice to be served on statutory regulated tenants under the Act and so these provisions introduce a notice period for those tenancies and sets out that it must be at least three months. They also amend the relevant forms to be used in serving notice, to ensure the information they contain is correct.
	These provisions will apply for a specified period of time, from the date on which the Coronavirus Bill (now Act) obtained Royal Assent (25th March 2020) to 30th September 2020.
	These provisions allow the Secretary of State to change the date on which they end or to extend the three month notice period to a maximum of six months. These measures have been drafted so as to only apply for the specified time stated, not as permanent changes, and for the process to return to current functioning once this period has ended.
	Scotland and Northern Ireland have differing tenancy systems which are a devolved competence.
	The territorial extent and application of the section and the Schedule is England and Wales only.