Eviction moratorium to end on 31/3/24

The government has confirmed that the eviction moratorium will end on 31 March. This means that any landlord who has been granted an eviction order by the tribunal since 30 September 2023 will be able to engage sheriff officers to enforce the eviction in April. 

Some members have contacted us to ask what difference this will make to eviction procedures. There are three changes this will bring:

1. If serving notice to tenants after 31/3/24, some eviction grounds will no longer be usable. This is the case for grounds 1A, 4A and 12A on a private residential tenancy (PRT), and for grounds 1A and 4A on an assured/short assured tenancy. Any landlords who have already started an eviction on these grounds prior to 31/3/24 can continue with the eviction as normal.
   
   
2. Notice templates will be updated by the government – the Notice to Leave used to end PRT leases and the AT6 used in some cases to end assured/short assured tenancies will be updated in legislation to remove reference to the eviction moratorium and the grounds set out in point 1 above.
   
   
3. From 31/3/24 eviction orders granted by the tribunal will be enforceable as soon as the 30 day appeal is over. Currently landlords have to wait up to 6 months or until 31/3/24, whichever is sooner, to enforce most eviction orders.
   
   

SAL’s notice templates and factsheet on serving notice to end a tenancy will be updated on 1 April 2024 to reflect the above changes.

Please note you will need to be logged onto the SAL website as a member to download the factsheet.

Not yet a member? Join SAL today for instant access and support.