The Private Tenancies (Coronavirus Modifications) (No.2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the regulations)

These Regulations amend the Private Tenancies (Coronavirus Modifications) Act (Northern Ireland) 2020 and extend the emergency period to 4th May 2022. That Act was first amended by the Private Tenancies (Coronavirus Modifications) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020 No. 192) to extend the emergency period to 31st March 2021 and it was subsequently amended by the Private Tenancies (Coronavirus Modifications) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021 No.41) to further extend the emergency period to 30th September 2021.

These Regulations are made in response to the continuing threat to public health which is posed by the incidence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) in Northern Ireland and in consideration of the rates of transmission increasing since the beginning of July 2020. As many of the economic support packages such as the Furlough scheme are due to wind down in the autumn, there is potential for a rise in unemployment which may impact private renters’ income streams and place them at increased risk of losing their homes.

These Regulations protect tenants from eviction for a reasonable and specified period of time and provide that landlords must give their tenants at least 12 weeks’ notice to quit a dwelling house let under a private tenancy.