Protection for tenants in mortgaged houses

The Mortgage Repossession (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010.

The Act aims to tackle the problem of tenants being evicted at short notice when their home is repossessed by their landlord's lender. Where a landlord grants an unauthorised tenancy after the date of the mortgage, a tenant may not be aware of repossession proceedings by the landlord's lender and have little time to find a new home. The Act:

• Gives courts the power to postpone an order for delivery of possession (and to stay or suspend the execution of a possession order) for up to two months.

• Requires the lender to give notice, at the property, of the proposed execution of the possession order.

The provisions in the Act will come into force on days to be appointed by statutory instrument