Campaigners call for ban on new evictions to be extended

Housing campaigners ACORN called for the ban on new evictions from social and private housing to be extended beyond September 20 – warning thousands across England and Wales will be at risk of homelessness when it is lifted.

Though bailiff and eviction activities were paused as part of the ban, claimants have still been able to lodge property possession claims ahead of court eviction cases resuming.

Ministry of Justice data shows 25 claims were submitted to the Wolverhampton County Court between April and June – and all claims were from private and social landlords. There were significantly fewer claims made than during the same period in 2019, when there was 287.

Twenty-five claims were also submitted to Walsall County Court from private and social landlords – down from 285 in the same period in 2019.

Data shows five claims were submitted to Dudley County Court between April and June – down from 249 in the same period last year. All claims were also from private and social landlords.

And at Stafford County Court, three claims were made by private and social landlords – down from 59 in the same period last year.

This reflected the trend across England and Wales, where the number of possession claims made between April and June fell to 3,183 – a drop of 90 per cent.

ACORN is calling on the Government to urgently extend protections for all, including those behind of their mortgage payments.

Mortgage payment holidays, first introduced in March, are also set to end on October 31.

Tom Renhard, ACORN national chairman, said: "One person at risk of homelessness is still one too many and the latest figures show thousands of people at risk.

"This is likely to spike as the furlough scheme comes to an end and many more people may struggle to pay their bills.

"We are in the middle of a public health emergency and people being made homeless could increase the risk of Covid-19 cases."

Landlords in England must also give tenants six months’ notice before they evict them, a new protection which will last until March 2021.

But tenants involved in the most serious cases, such as anti-social behaviour or those with over six months' accumulated rent arrears, can be given just four weeks' notice.

Homeless charity Crisis said the figures confirmed banning evictions and extending the notice period was the right thing to do.

Jon Sparkes, Crisis chief executive, said: “As jobs cuts are coming in thick and fast, we know that tens of thousands of people may struggle to find somewhere cheaper to live even with six months’ notice.

"The Government still has time to intervene and protect people from being swept into homelessness.

"We urgently need renters who are struggling to afford their rent and in arrears given financial support from Government.”

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokeswoman added: “We’ve taken unprecedented action to support renters, preventing people getting into financial hardship and helping businesses to pay salaries, meaning no tenants have been forced from their home.

“These measures strike a fair balance – supporting landlords to act in the most serious cases while keeping the public safe.”