Court Decision Will Hit Landlords In The Pocket

Landlords who want to evict tenants who have breached suspended possession orders are being warned they must go to court with evidence of the breach before they can act. The warning comes following a case in which the Appeal Court ruled the council (Cardiff) acted incorrectly by actioning the possession order after it was alleged the tenant had breached the terms. The ruling will have significant implications for landlords applying for warrants of possession in the County Court – with the process set to become more expensive and time consuming as a result.The case concerned a tenant who had a suspended possession order relating to antisocial behaviour, which they subsequently breached. Read more on the RLA website.

Rental Tenants Facing Homelessness

Some 47,220 landlord possession claims were recorded in county courts between January and March against tenants, which the report, released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), said marks the biggest quarterly figure in records going back over 10 years. The figures, which cover both private and public sector tenancies across England and Wales, show a stark contrast between the situation in the rental sector and the number of mortgage repossession claims being made against home owners in the courts, which at 12,704 in the first quarter of the year is at its lowest level in a decade. Housing charity Shelter said it has seen evidence of tenants falling victim to "revenge evictions", after they had complained to their landlord, letting agent or council about a problem with their home that needed putting right, such as a leaking roof or mould and damp. Read more on the Shropshire Star website.