Over 26,000 eviction orders served on private tenants in one quarter

Some 26,676 court orders were issued for the eviction of private sector tenants in the final quarter of 2015 according to a survey by Your Move and Reeds Rains. 

This is down marginally by 0.4 per cent compared to Q3, and on an annual basis it is down further - 5.3 per cent fewer evictions than the 28,167 recorded in Q4 2014. 

The latest figure constitutes about 32 per cent of those private tenants in what the agencies call “serious arrears” of more than two months’ rent. There are now some 82,900 renting households in that serious arrears category.

Meanwhile cases of landlords falling behind on their own financial commitments are also diminishing. As of Q4 2015 there were 5,500 examples of buy to let mortgage arrears, down by 3.5 per from the previous quarter. 

On an annual basis, the number of buy to let mortgages in arrears has dropped by 54 per cent since standing at 11,900 cases in Q4 2014.

“Landlords and the buy to let industry have come in for serious criticism over the last year – but the overwhelming evidence points to a vital, growing and successful industry” according to Adrian Gill, director of the two agencies. 

“Landlords in the UK are providing more homes to let every month, expanding supply for tenants – who avoid any serious problems paying the rent in more than 98 per cent of cases. When late rent does happen, landlords appear to be extremely flexible in the majority of cases, and eviction orders are decreasingly necessary. Buy-to-let mortgages are also increasingly reliable for lenders, as landlords are ever less likely to fall into arrears themselves.”