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

Made: 3rd September 2021

Coming into operation: 29th September 2021

The Department for Communities[^f00001] makes the following Regulations in exercise of the power conferred by section 1(3) of the Private Tenancies (Coronavirus Modifications) Act (Northern Ireland) 2020[^f00002].

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Private Tenancies (Coronavirus Modifications) (No.2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 and come into operation on 29th September 2021.

Amendment of the emergency period in the Private Tenancies (Coronavirus Modifications) Act (Northern Ireland) 2020

2

In section 1(2)(b) of the Private Tenancies (Coronavirus Modifications) Act (Northern Ireland) 2020 (notice to quit: private tenancies), for “30th September 2021” substitute “4th May 2022”.

Signed

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Communities on 3rd September 2021

David Polley — A senior official of the Department for Communities

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: See Section 1(7) of the Departments Act (N.Ireland) 2016 (c.5 (N.I.))

[^f00002]: 2020 c. 2 (N.I.); section 1(2)(b) was last amended by regulation 2 of S.R. 2021 No.41