The Northern Ireland Assembly has now passed the Private Tenancies (Coronavirus Modifications) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 which extends the changes to the Notice to Quit periods to 31 March 2021.

Whilst the Regulations are in force a 12-week notice to quit period applies to all tenancies, irrespective of the duration of the tenancy.

This means:

For tenancies less than five years the notice to quit period has been increased by eight weeks to 12 weeks.

For tenancies that are between five and ten years, the notice to quit period has been increased by four weeks to 12 weeks.

For tenancies of more than ten years, the notice to quit period remains the same.

ARLA Propertymark’s Daryl McIntosh, Strategic Development Manager for Scotland and Northern Ireland, said:

“Extending the Notice to Quit periods to help prevent or reduce significant numbers of households becoming homeless at a time of national crisis, whilst keeping a fair balance for landlords being able to get return of their property, is a welcome and pragmatic approach by the Department for Communities.”