Shelter claims one-in-23 tenants in some areas are at risk of eviction

Campaigning charity Shelter claims that in some areas of the country no fewer than one-in-23 private rental sector tenants are apparently at risk of eviction.

In a new report on tenants’ risks, the charity admits that “low interest rates, pre-action protocols and support for homeowners are keeping the number of possession claims by mortgage lenders at relatively low levels” but says that nonetheless many tenants remain vulnerable to eviction.

This is because of welfare reforms, a lack of affordable housing, and what the charity describes as “the spiralling costs of renting.”

Now Shelter has looked at the number of possession claims that have been lodged in a court in the last 12 months to produce its latest figures - although it concedes that not all possession claims lead to possession orders, and not all possession orders lead to the loss of the home and eviction. 

“But receiving a possession claim means a household is subject to a legal process where their home is at risk” says the charity.

It says that in some ‘eviction hotspots’ as many as one in every 23 renting households were put at risk in the past year, with London locations Enfield, Barking and Dagenham at the top. 

“In total 148,039 renting households across England received a possession claim in the last 12 months - equivalent to around 350,000 people put at risk of losing their home” says Shelter.

“Over the same period, 41,154 renting households lost their battle and were evicted by bailiffs. Worryingly, these numbers are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg” it claims.