Eviction

[LadyDTM]

Bit of a strange one. My friend and his partner were living in his partners flat, it was his partners name on the local authority tenancy agreement. Sadly his partner passed away just before christmas and obviously he has to vacate the flat, which he has accepted, however, he hasn't managed to find anywhere yet. The local authority have said they will give him a 28 day notice to quit (which is almost up) then go down the road of obtaining a court order to evict him. Now, the question is, how long potentially does it take for the authority to obtain and then enforce the order under the present pandemic?

[Buenchico]

Renters are currently protected from eviction by bailiffs but, since your friend's name wasn't on the tenancy, that protection might not exist for him. This document outlines the procedures which, with the major backlogs that courts are currently facing, might take quite some time to complete:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-the-possession-action-process-guidance-for-landlords-and-tenants/understanding-the-possession-action-process-a-guide-for-social-rented-tenants-in-england-and-wales

The housing charity, Shelter, might be able to provide your friend with further advice and support:
https://england.shelter.org.uk/get_help

[LadyDTM]

Thankyou, I will pass this information on. He isn't paying any rent but is paying council tax. He offered to pay the rent whilst looking for alternative accomodation but was informed that as he wasn't the tenant, he could not