Possession Actions And The Coronavirus

In my previous article upon the Coronavirus Act 2020, I discussed the newly introduced restrictions on the ability of landlords to recover possession of rented and commercial properties.

Measures introduced under the Act and a Practice Direction governing civil proceeding in England & Wales were focussed on providing tenants with some protection from possession actions brought by landlords, with landlords finding themselves being unable to secure Possession Orders against Tenants until late June 2020. Unfortunately, there was an unintended consequence; it prevented landowners from obtaining Possession Orders to recover their land/property from squatters. Any squatter that entered into occupation of a property over the last month could have found themselves "sitting pretty" until the end of June 2020 at the earliest.