On 25 March 2020, the UK Government passed into law the Coronavirus Act which provides additional powers to deal with the Coronavirus outbreak. The Act included the court service being suspended for all ongoing housing possession action in both England and Wales, meaning that neither cases currently in, or any about to go in the system, could progress to the stage where someone could be evicted.
The selected sites, spanning across England and Wales, will host the new courts alongside other work to identify more potential locations. Government believe that the courts will alleviate the pressure of the backlog of tribunals resulting from the pandemic. At this stage, there is no specific information on the type of work the courts will be doing but they could see housing possession cases being heard – Propertymark is continuing to work with MHCLG and the Ministry of Justice to gain further detail.
Plans to regain possession
On 22 July, Christopher Pincher MP announced that the end to the pause on possession proceedings will commence from 23 August. Conscious that the sector is raising significant concerns about a backlog in the Courts, he reminded the House of Commons that prioritising cases is the job of the judiciary, but he believes it is important that serious and antisocial cases are heard in the Courts as soon as possible.
The site in East Pallant House, Chichester, is expected to begin hearing an expanded list of cases next week, with all ten locations up and running in August.
The confirmed sites are:
- Former county court at Telford, Shropshire
- Hertfordshire Development Centre, Stevenage
- Swansea Council Chambers, Swansea
- Cloth Hall Court, Leeds
- Middlesbrough Town Hall, Teesside
- East Pallant House, Chichester
- 102 Petty France, London
- Prospero House, London
- Former magistrates’ court at Fleetwood, Lancashire
- Knights’ Chamber and Visitor Centre, Bishop’s Palace, Peterborough Cathedral
Our action to keep the justice system running throughout the pandemic has been globally recognised, with these Nightingale Courts being the latest step in this effort.
They will help boost capacity across our courts and tribunals - reducing delays and delivering speedier justice for victims.
But we won’t stop there. Together with the judiciary, courts staff, and legal sector, I am determined that we must pursue every available option to ensure our courts recover as quickly as possible.
Concerns expressed to Ministry of Justice on housing possession cases
ARLA Propertymark has written to the Secretary of State for Justice expressing concerns for the management of housing possession cases in England and Wales when the current stay on possessions is lifted on 23 August 2020.
