Newly released government figures on evictions and repossessions highlight the critical need for further legal aid investment, the Law Society has said.
Data published by the Ministry of Justice yesterday shows a steep rise in landlord possession action, with claims up by 24% from the same period last year, orders up 12%, warrants up 27% and repossessions up 19%.
Official statisticians suggest rising interest rates are partly to blame. ‘The changes in regulations and rising interest rates with the corresponding increases in mortgages may have contributed to uncertainty for landlords in the short term and has very likely led to some landlords selling their properties and exiting the rental market. This would have the effect of increasing the number of possession actions,’ the ministry’s report says.
However, the government expects accelerated claims to plummet in England once section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions are scrapped through the Renters (Reform) Bill, which was introduced to parliament in May. Landlords in Wales will continue to be able to use an accelerated process where they have served notice under five sections of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016).
While the government is optimistic about the future, the Law Society says the latest figure reinforce the critical need for further housing legal aid investment.
Last week saw commencement of the government’s housing loss prevention advice service, which offers early legal advice on social welfare law matters before court as well as on-the-day advice and representation in court.
The Society welcomed HLPAS, which replaced the housing possession court duty scheme, but said the new service will be ineffective if there are not enough providers to help tenants.
A total of 101 HLPAS contracts have been awarded. However, even when HLPAS providers are available, the Society said they are not always necessarily close by. For instance, using the Legal Aid Agency’s ‘find a legal aid adviser’ tool, the closes provider in Hull to the city centre was 16 miles away. The second closes provider was 33 miles away.
Society president Lubna Shuja said: ‘Without easy access to providers, the scheme does little to help people at risk of losing their homes. And with increasing demand, the few providers remaining will not have the capacity to take on new clients.’
