COVID 19 – a residential landlord's perspective by Jason Hobday, Associate, and Nigel Emmerson, Partner, at law firm Womble Bond Dickinson
We find ourselves in unprecedented times for the modern era. In this every changing environment, with an overload of government guidance, and which is changing on a daily basis, residential landlords are eager to understand what obligations they may have towards their tenants. Whilst many landlords will be motivated by a laudable desire to act in the best interests of their tenants, care should be taken to ensure that they do not inadvertently find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
As at the time of writing landlords are not under any direct statutory duties in relation to taking steps to support the government's strategy for dealing with COVID-19 – which has now reached phase 2 – 'delaying the spread of the virus'. This may however change in the coming days and weeks and so the position should be closely monitored using the Public Health England guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response