Record number of tenant evictions in 2015

The number of tenants evicted from their homes reached a record high in 2015, according to figures recently issued by the Ministry of Justice. The figures revealed that 42,728 households in rented accommodation were forcibly removed. 

The MoJ data shows the number of evictions increased by 53 per cent over the five years from 2010, to the equivalent of more than 170 a day. In England, 19,093 evictions were by social landlords, such as housing associations, while 5,919 were by private landlords. A further 16,440 were made through the “accelerated procedure”, which can be used by either type of landlord to evict tenants on assured shorthold tenancies. 

Londoners were most likely to lose their homes, as of the 20 boroughs with the highest proportion of landlord repossessions, 16 are in the capital.

The number of possession claims – the start of the repossession process – fell during the year to 148,043. Of these, 90,317 were by social landlords, 20,063 by private landlords and 37,663 were accelerated claims.

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