When you visit our website, we may send you a cookie. To learn more, please refer to our Privacy Policy. By continuing to use our website, you agree to this.
By continuing, you agree to our Cookie Policy.
Home > News and Reports > Are home repossessions set to skyrocket?
Oct 23, 2018
Are home repossessions set to skyrocket?

According to Shelter, a charity for the homeless, nearly one out of every 35 homes in some parts of England are now at risk of being repossessed, which is equivalent to a home on every street in the UK.

Thanks to rising living costs, stagnant wages, and unemployment, many households throughout the UK are living on the edge of a knife, and recent changes to benefit rules may cause more people to lose their homes, the Shelter recently said.

According to statistics released by the charity, which it says come from 2011 census data and figures from the Ministry of Justice, possession claims have risen across England.

Possession claims are applications made by landlords and lenders to a court in an effort to repossess a house, and they are the first step in the process of obtaining a possession order.

From July 2012 to June 2018, eviction and possession claims in North Yorkshire and Richmondshire skyrocketed by 80.3 per cent.

Following North Yorkshire and Richmondshire, West Somerset experienced a 65.7 per cent increase in possession claims, and Watford experienced a 50.8 per cent increase.

However, at one in every 35 homes, Newham in east London has the most homes at risk of repossession.

Outside of London, Wolverhampton has the highest number of possession claims, with one in every 59 homes currently under threat. Luton, Nottingham, Peterborough, and Salford all have one in 63 houses at risk.

In Brent, a borough of London, 2,747 houses are at risk of repossession, which is a 37.6 per cent increase from the 1,997 houses at risk only a year earlier.

These figures are being used by Shelter for a campaign against the removal of financial safety nets for Britons who become unemployed.

With the universal credit system, which was rolled out nationally this month, the housing benefit will be reduced for recently unemployed individuals. With these changes, a family paying average rent for a three-bedroom home will need an additional £100 or more each month when they become unemployed in order to avoid risking the loss of their home.

Campbell Robb, Shelter’s chief executive, stated, “This research shows that thousands of families all over England are dealing with the devastating possibility of losing their home. In some places as many as one home in every street is now at risk.”

He concluded, “It’s right we create a welfare system that’s fair but government changes to the safety net are leaving ordinary families exposed.”

Leave your thoughts   |   CATEGORIES:   
Return to Top ▲Return to Top ▲