47,220 landlord possession claims in last qtr

According to Inside Housing

Quarterly statistics from the Ministry of Justice, out today, reveal there were 47,220 landlord possession claims issued in England and Wales between January and March this year. This is the highest quarterly figure in a decade.

There were 10,475 landlord repossessions by county court bailiffs over the same period, the highest figure in the last five years.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: ‘Today’s figures are proof that times are getting even tougher for generation rent. The steep rise in tenants threatened with eviction means that thousands of families will now be facing the trauma of losing their home.

‘With the huge cost of private rents eating away at monthly budgets and years of stagnating wages, millions of families are finding themselves living on a financial knife-edge. And in life’s lottery, it only takes one thing to tip a family over the edge and into a spiral that puts their home at risk.

‘The government needs to do more to make sure that ordinary families who fall on hard times are given the help they need to get back on their feet, without losing their home.’

Landlord possession claims had decreased since 2003, reaching their lowest level in 2010. However they have since increased, with the upward trend coinciding with a rise in the number of renters.

The number of mortgage possession claims in county courts was 12,704 in the first three months of this year, the lowest quarterly figure recorded in more than a decade.