Evictions By Private Landlords Outstrip Social Housing Sector For First Time During Pandemic

Evictions by private landlords have outstripped those in the social housing sector across England and Wales for the first time during the pandemic, official statistics show. But the gap narrowed significantly between January and March, with private rented sector possessions dropping 21.7% compared with the previous quarter while increasing 12.2% in the social sector, according to figures recently published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). A ban on bailiff-enforced evictions came to an end over the Bank Holiday weekend. Landlords have been restricted in their ability to remove tenants since the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020. Read more on Inside Housing.

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Courts Are ‘Failing’ Landlords And Tenants

Private landlords are waiting longer to repossess properties for legitimate reasons, according to official data. The Ministry of Justice has reported that the average time for a private landlord to make a claim to the courts to repossess a property to it happening is now 17.3 weeks. The figures, based on the government’s preferred measure, are said to cover the first quarter of 2019, and show that the process is taking one week longer than the final quarter of 2018. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/rla-courts-are-failing-landlords-and-tenants/

MoJ Courts Trouble Over Future For Empty Homes

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is courting trouble over the future for former prison officer accommodation at a jail site in a prime London location. Right now, the jury’s out on the ‘alternative uses’ the Ministry has in mind for the 29 three- and four-bedroom flats behind the former HMP Pentonville that have stood empty for a decade. Islington Council has cited the urgent need for such homes in the borough as temporary accommodation. Councillors and council officers have had meetings with MoJ officials to encourage a leasing option. But when they thought the Ministry was coming back with a majority verdict, the Ministry merely wanted more time to assess those ‘alternative uses’. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/ministry-of-justice-courts-trouble-over-future-for-empty-homes/

Crisis Releases Homelessness Report

A new report from Crisis gives government no let-up on homelessness. Despite his matter-of-fact admission to the obvious on rough sleeping, Chancellor Philip Hammond’s budget didn’t pledge much to address the problem. So, Crisis has said what the Commons should have heard, focusing specifically on the difference five government departments could make in preventing homelessness: the Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Home Office and the Department for Education. Download the report from Crisis.

https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/239551/preventing_homelessness_its_everybodys_buisness_2018.pdf

High Court Overturns Housing Legal Aid Changes

The High Court has overturned controversial planned changes to legal aid for housing support. In a judgement published on Friday, the judge, Mrs Justice Andrews, found in favour of the challenge to the Ministry of Justice’s (MOJ) decision to make changes to the way housing advice is procured. These controversial changes would have consolidated and reduced housing legal aid schemes, and introduced price competition. The MOJ will now reconsider the remitted proposal. The proposed changes relate to the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS), local schemes which provide immediate legal advice to people at risk of losing their home. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ze8zQ6a0wrAJ:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/home/high-court-overturns-housing-legal-aid-changes-56933+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&safe=vss

Rental Repossession Numbers Set To Jump

The number of rental properties claimed back by landlords after tenants fail to pay their rent is expected to rise this year, official figures suggest.  The latest data from the Ministry of Justice shows that the number of properties taken back by banks, building societies and other home loan providers after owner occupiers fail to pay their mortgages has stabilised at low levels in the last few years. However, an increase in the number of repossession claims and a sudden significant spike in the number of warrants for future repossessions by landlords suggests the instances of tenant eviction could rise by almost 10 percentage points in the coming months. Read more on the Independent website.

http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/rental-repossession-numbers-set-to-jump-a8210681.html

Mortgage Possession Orders On The Rise

The number of mortgage possession claims and orders made in county courts has increased in the last six months. Sellhousefast.uk – which assists homeowners with the prospect of repossession – has analysed data to determine which local authorities in England and Wales are most at risk. That data, from the Ministry of Justice, showed the City of London had the highest rate of mortgage possession claims at 59%. However, this corresponded to just three properties due to a smaller population. Read more on 24housing.

15 Renters An Hour ‘At Risk Of Eviction’

Figures from the Ministry of Justice reveal over 130,000 renters in England were put at risk of eviction during 2016.

·         In 2016, 53,201 private renting households in England were put at risk of eviction – equivalent to 131,938 renters, which is 15 renters per hour

·         A total of 21,596 private renting households in England were evicted by bailiffs in 2016.

·         The loss of a private tenancy remains the single biggest cause of homelessness in the country

Read more on 24housing.

22,592 Private Renting Households Evicted Over The Past 12 Months

Shelter says the “terrible impact” of welfare cuts and “chronic lack” of affordable homes is reflected in the 22,592 private renting households in England evicted by bailiffs in the last twelve months – the equivalent of 56,480 people and 88% higher than the number five years ago. Shelter spoke out on the release of latest mortgage and landlord repossession statistics from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) this week. The loss of a private tenancy remains the single biggest cause of homelessness in the country.  Read more on 24dash.

Tenant Evictions Reach Highest Level On Record

The number of tenants evicted from their homes by bailiffs reached a record high in 2015, according to official figures for England and Wales showing that 42,728 households in rented accommodation were forcibly removed. Housing campaigners blamed welfare cuts and the shortage of affordable homes for the 2% rise in repossessions over the year, revealed in figures from the Ministry of Justice. More than half the evictions are thought to have been by private landlords. The data show the number of evictions increased by 53% over the five years from 2010, to the equivalent of more than 170 a day. In England, 19,093 evictions were by social landlords while 5,919 were by private landlords. Download the figures from the GovUK website.

Concerns Raised Over Threat Of Eviction For Many Tenants

More than 352,000 rental sector tenants in England have faced the threat of losing their home over the last year - equating to one tenant every 90 seconds - according to analysis from Shelter. The charity, which used Ministry of Justice figures to make the findings, said that one in every 55 rented households in England was put at risk of losing their home over the last year. Shelter's calculations are based on the number of possession claims issued by landlords in courts over the last year.Possession claims do not necessarily end in the tenant being evicted, although Shelter's figures suggest that in around one in three cases tenants do end up losing their home. Read more on the BT website.

Social Landlord Possession Claims Fall

Possession claims issued by social landlords have continued to fall as housing associations and councils work to prevent tenant rent arrears from building up. Figures released by the Ministry of Justice show there were just 21,160 claims for possession issued for social landlord properties in April to June this year. This is the lowest figure for any quarter since 2010. The overall number of social landlord possession claims issued in the first six months of 2015 is 48,636, down on the 55,232 issued last year. Social landlord possession claims initially rose from 90,217 in 2010 to 113,175 in 2013, but dropped to 105,645 last year. Download the stats from the GovUK website.

Evictions Soar Since Housing Benefit Cuts Began

The number of people being evicted from their rented homes has increased by almost 50 per cent since housing benefit cuts were introduced four years ago, it has been revealed. Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that 10,361 households in England and Wales were repossessed by county court bailiffs between April and June this year – equivalent to more than 23,000 people. During the same period in 2011 there were 7,072 repossessions. The MoJ report said the trend in repossessions by county court bailiffs appeared to be in contradiction to that seen in claims, orders and warrants – a situation it attributed to the time it takes for claims to be processed through to the repossession stage. Read more on the Independent website.

Eviction Action against Private Rented Sector Tenants Reaches Record High

Record amounts of eviction action is being taken against the city's tenants in the private rented sector, the News can reveal.  Cambridge landlords have launched more than 70 claims for eviction through the courts over the past 12 months, according to analysis of figures released by the Ministry of Justice. And it is feared this is just the tip of the iceberg with regards to tenants being evicted in the city. The News recently revealed that cases of homelessness coming forward to the city council had also reached record levels, with the past 12 months seeing a 41 per cent increase. Read more on the Cambridge News website.

Repossessions and Mortgage Arrears Fall To Eight-Year Low

The number of homes repossessed by lenders last year fell to their lowest level since 2006. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says repossessions fell by 26% to just 21,000, with mortgage arrears also falling to an eight-year low. The improvement was attributed to the rising levels of employment and continuing low interest rates.  One group that experienced more repossessions last year was tenants. Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that 42,000 tenants saw their homes repossessed by their landlords last year. That was an 11% jump on 2013 and the highest annual figure since modern records started in 2000. Read more on the BBC website.

New Database Names Private Landlords Convicted Under Housing Act

Private landlords convicted of safety breaches have been named publicly for the first time in a new national database created after the Ministry of Justice disclosed the data following a freedom on information request. The data maps firms convicted of dozens of breaches under the Housing Act 2004. The database, which was compiled by Environmental Health News, provides private renters the first at-a-glance guide to whether landlords and letting agents have been prosecuted in the past. Some of the companies involved have received hundreds of thousands of pounds in public money in the form of housing benefit. Read more on the EHN website.

Evictions Rocket as Welfare Reforms and Rising Property Prices Hit Home

The number of tenants evicted from their homes in England and Wales hit record levels in November. Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that 11,100 properties were repossessed by bailiffs between July and September this year, the highest quarterly figure since records began in 2000. The homelessness charity Shelter estimates that over 1,300 people a day (560 households) in England are put at risk from eviction or repossession. Read more on the Guardian website.

Surge in Evictions As Poorest Tenants Are Hit By New Benefit Cap

The number of tenants evicted by their landlords is at a record high, new figures from the Ministry of Justice reveal, with experts blaming the spike in repossessions on benefit cuts and the growing trend of “revenge evictions”. More than 11,000 tenants were evicted in just three months between June and September this year – an 11 per cent increase on the previous quarter and the highest number since records began in 2000. In the year to September 2014, more than 40,000 households were evicted – a rise of 117 per cent on the previous 12 months. Read more on the Independent website.

Almost 600 Homes in England at Risk Every Day

Nearly 600 households in England are at risk of losing their homes every day, new research reveals. The research, which comes from Ministry of Justice statistics, also identified hotspots around the country where the risk is particularly high. While Barking and Dagenham topped the list, the problem isn’t just in London – Nottingham and Salford also showed up in the top 20. The findings come as sky-high housing costs are pushing more and more families to the brink. With finances stretched to breaking point, just one thing, like a sudden illness or job loss, can leave a family facing homelessness. Read more on the Shelter website.

Life In Limbo: What It’s Like To Be One Of Britain’s Hidden Homeless

The threat of people losing their home if they rent is at its highest level in more than a decade, official figures from the Ministry of Justice show. Benefit changes, including the introduction of the bedroom tax, and an increase in sanctions, such as housing benefit being suspended, are driving up the number being threatened with eviction. 31,000 people in social housing received a notice to seek possession at the start of this year. That’s 525 a day.  “Housing benefit is a safety net and for many it’s all that stands between them and homelessness,” says Leslie Morphy, chief executive of Crisis. “Homelessness has been on the rise for the last three years. Rough sleeping in particular has risen steeply and by a massive 75 per cent in London. Harsh cuts to housing benefits and a lack of affordable housing have taken a heavy toll.” Read more on the New Statesman website.