Up to 230,000 tenants could face eviction after falling behind with rent during the pandemic, new estimates by Shelter suggest.
However, the National Residential Landlords Association has refuted the claims, arguing that its members will do everything they can to allow tenants to stay in their homes.
Shelter’s predictions are based on a survey carried out in June which found that 3 per cent of the renters polled had fallen into arrears since the start of the Covid crisis.
The housing charity says these tenants are at risk of losing their homes when the ban on evictions ends on August 23.
It says that 174,000 tenants have already been threatened with eviction and that the total of 442,000 renters who are in arrears is double the number recorded in the same period last year.
Shelter warns that under the current court system, anyone who accrues rent arrears of eight weeks or more can be automatically evicted, in addition to the risk of being subjected to a Section 21 so-called “no fault” eviction.
Shelter chief executive Polly Neate says: “The housing secretary promised no-one would lose their home because of coronavirus.
“But the financial chaos of Covid-19 means that many private renters are in danger of being evicted when the current ban lifts.
“Unless he acts now, he will break his promise, and put thousands of renters at risk of homelessness.
“We know people have been doing whatever they can to pay their rent and keep their home safe.
“Despite this, the minute the evictions ban lifts, the 230,000 already behind with their rent could be up for automatic eviction if they have built up eight weeks-worth of arrears.
“And judges will be powerless to help them.
“That’s more than the entire population of Portsmouth at risk of losing their homes.”
Neate says the housing secretary still has time to avert disaster.
She adds: “All he and the government need to do – in the 10 sitting days before Parliament breaks for the summer – is make some small changes to the law.
“These changes would give judges the power to ensure that no renter is automatically evicted, and the impact of coronavirus is always considered.”
NRLA policy director Chris Norris says: “Throughout the lockdown, our surveys show that the vast majority of landlords have been doing all they can to keep people in their homes.
“Our recently published guidance supports tenants and landlords to hold discussions about how to address rent arrears and sustain tenancies.
“It is important though to distinguish between tenants affected by Covid-19 and those who were building rent arrears before lockdown, sometimes for several months and sometimes wilfully.
“When the courts restart hearing possession cases the latter should be the priority along with instances where tenants are committing anti-social behaviour or domestic abuse.”
