The housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, announced that private tenants will not be evicted from their homes for at least three months even if they are struggling with their rent, under new emergency coronavirus legislation.

Jenrick said new laws would ban landlords in England and Wales from evicting tenants, following days of pressure by campaigners and tenants’ unions who had warned that tens of thousands of households could be made homeless because they could not afford rent. He said: “Emergency legislation will be taken forward as an urgent priority so that landlords will not be able to start proceedings to evict tenants for at least a three-month period.”

Mark Steggles, partner at law firm Thomson Snell & Passmore, comments: “The government has announced that it intends to pass emergency legislation to prevent landlords from starting proceedings to evict tenants for at least a three month period in the light of the coronavirus outbreak. The purpose behind the legislation is to take the pressure off tenants who cannot afford to pay rent as a result of not receiving any income in the current climate.

“Responding to concerns about the impact this may have on landlords, the government confirmed that the three month mortgage payment holiday plans announced earlier in the week will now be extended to landlords whose tenants fall into the above category, such as landlords with buy-to-let mortgages. This avoids the financial pressure being passed from the tenant straight to the landlord and is a shift in government policy.

“The obvious concern is that this doesn’t solve the issue; it simply pushes the issue down the road for three months. To combat this, the government suggests that the legislation will provide that after the three month period has expired, landlords and tenants will be expected to work together to establish an affordable repayment plan taking into account the tenants’ individual circumstances. Further guidance on this point will follow.