Coronavirus and your home

Help if you rent your home

Notice periods if a landlord wants to end your tenancy

In March 2020, government introduced temporary regulations to protect tenants. The regulations were updated several times and changed how much notice your landlord had to give you before they could start court action to evict you.

In England

The temporary changes were in place for notices given between 26 March 2020 and 30 September 2021.

If you were given a notice during this time, the amount of notice that your landlord needed to give you will have depended on several factors, such as when you were given the notice and what type of tenancy you had.

You can check that you were given the right amount of notice by using Shelter’s online checker.

In Wales

The temporary changes were in place for notices given between 26 March 2020 and 24 March 2022.

If you are unsure whether you were given the right amount of notice contact Shelter Cymru on 0800 049 5495 or contact us for advice.

Court action

From 27 March 2020 until 20 September 2020 the court service suspended (stayed) most possession action because of coronavirus. This temporary stay has now ended. This does not mean that your landlord will begin court action.

If you cannot afford to pay your rent or already have arrears, contact your landlord as soon as possible to discuss your situation.

If your landlord starts new possession action or asks the court to re-start a claim that was previously suspended because of coronavirus, there are extra rules that they need to follow. For more information, see our Rent arrears fact sheet.

If you have received possession claim forms, are being threatened with court action (including eviction) or need extra support, contact:

Shelter on 0808 800 4444 if you live in England; or
Shelter Cymru on 0800 049 5495 if you live in Wales.

Information is also available on their websites.

Tenant Saver Loan Scheme

The Tenant Saver Loan Scheme offers loans to certain private sector tenants in Wales to cover rent arrears that have built up since 1 March 2020.

However, the Welsh Government has said that it is introducing the Tenancy Hardship Grant to replace the Tenant Saver Loan Scheme. If you have already received a loan through the Tenant Saver Loan Scheme, your loan will be converted to a grant. You should be contacted later in July 2021 when the new grant scheme starts.

For more information, see the Tenancy Hardship Grant section.

Tenancy Hardship Grant

You may be able to get help from the grant if you:

are living in private rented accommodation in Wales;
have fallen behind with your rent by more than eight weeks between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2021 because of coronavirus reasons; and
were not receiving housing-related benefits when you built up your rent arrears.

Contact your local authority to check if funds are still available. If your application is successful, the local authority will pay the grant to your landlord on your behalf.

For more information, see GOV.Wales.

Discretionary Housing Payment

If you claim Housing Benefit or Universal Credit with help towards housing costs, you may be able to get a Discretionary Housing Payment. A Discretionary Housing Payment can give you extra money to pay towards your rent. To apply, contact your local council. Check whether you can claim online.

Help with your mortgage

FCA guidance

The FCA guidance, which may have meant you could apply for a payment holiday, ended on 31 July 2021.

If you are finding it difficult to afford your mortgage payments, contact your lender as soon as possible to discuss your situation. Ask your lender what forbearance options are available and how they will affect your credit file. Your lender should provide support that is tailored to your circumstances. For example, this may include an agreement:

to make reduced payments or no payments for a set period of time; or
to change the term of your mortgage.

If you previously had a payment holiday which has ended and you can afford to make your mortgage payments again, do so. You will also need to contact your lender to discuss how you are going to catch up with the missed payments.

Possession action in the courts

FCA guidance also said that while lenders could continue with possession action, they should not have enforced repossession of a property before 1 April 2021. This does not mean that your lender will take court action now. However, if your lender starts new possession action or asks the court to re-start a claim that was previously suspended because of coronavirus, there are extra rules that they need to follow. For more information, see our Mortgage arrears fact sheet.

If your lender is threatening eviction or you have received a notice telling you that you will be evicted, contact:

Shelter on 0808 800 4444 if you live in England; or
Shelter Cymru on 0800 049 5495 if you live in Wales.

Information is also available on their websites.

Help to Buy customers

England

The FCA guidance, which may have meant you could apply for a payment holiday, ended on 31 July 2021.

When an agreed payment holiday ends, loan payments will automatically return to the normal monthly amount. You will need to contact Help to Buy on 0345 848 0236 to discuss how you are going to catch up with the missed payments.

Wales

If you are worried about making repayments you should contact Help to Buy (Wales) Ltd on 0800 0937 937 to discuss your situation.