Citizens Advice claims that in the two months since the lockdown began it has helped over 10,000 people with issues related to the private rental sector – and 1,000 of those have apparently related to evictions, despite the government ban.

In its latest statement on renting, issued over the weekend, it repeats its call for additional protection for renters who it describes as “vulnerable to eviction because of Coronavirus.”

The extra measures it wants include:

– accelerating the ending of Section 21 evictions;

– unspecified temporary changes allowing the courts more discretion for tenants in arrears because of Coronavirus;

– and, when these measures are in place, the implementation of ‘pre-action protocol’ of steps that landlords must follow before they can bring possession proceedings.

The statement says the government has “just one month to act” before the end of the moratorium on evictions expires on June 25.

The organisation claims that the deadline creates a cliff edge “that will pitch some renters into long-term debt or homelessness.”

Research by CA earlier this month suggested that 2.6m private renters had already missed, or expected to miss, a rent payment because of Coronavirus.

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