Derby City Council is urging landlords to seek alternative solutions to tenancy issues with the government’s eviction ban ending last month.
The emergency measures came into effect last year in order to protect those hit financially by the Covid-19 pandemic, however, with the ban now ended, landlords are able to serve eviction notices again with at least 14 days’ notice.
Landlords in the private rented sector are being urged to use Derby City Council’s Call B4 You Serve scheme, which was recently recognised as best practice by the Local Government Association.
Call B4 You Serve is a free, specialist and impartial service for private rented sector landlords and is designed to help them avoid serving an eviction notice by dealing with tenancy issues early.
The service is operated by council-owned Derby Homes on behalf of Derby City Council and provides a range of services, including:
- Help to create a personalised housing plan
- Help to resolve rent arrears and a financial assessment for tenants
- Advice and signposting about leasing properties to support housing providers
- A free tenant-finding service for any vacant properties
By working with the service, landlords have been able to avoid lengthy and costly legal challenges and keep their properties filled.
Commenting, Derby City Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Housing, Councillor Roy Webb said: “The coronavirus pandemic has left many people struggling with rent payments, leaving landlords out of pocket and with no way of retrieving arrears.
“While eviction may seem like a quick solution, alternatives should be considered and Call B4 You Serve can help identify these.
“By working with the team, many landlords have been able to keep their properties occupied and have avoided the lengthy and costly legal challenges that come with an eviction.
“We’re committed to working with both city landlords and tenants to help them work through any tenancy issues in order to keep people in their homes and support landlords to achieve secure and reliable tenancies.”
