Shelter warns tens of thousands of renters could face eviction amid coronavirus crisis without urgent government action

Headline figures:

• Shelter estimates over 50,000 households could face eviction through the courts over the next six months, a figure which could rise dramatically with the fall out of the pandemic and any resulting economic crash. 
• There are over 20 million renters in England, who urgently need protection.
• Even more worryingly there are nearly 1.5 million renting households headed by someone over 65, who would be especially vulnerable if they faced eviction.
• Nearly 75% of renters have no savings to fall back on if they lose their home.
• Shelter’s services are already receiving daily calls for help from renters being threatened with eviction by their landlord because of the COVID-19 crisis. This includes an NHS worker, and someone illegally evicted while on holiday in Italy. 
• Shelter is urging the government to legislate to immediately halt all possession orders and bailiff warrants so that no one loses their home during this public health crisis. This would be done through amendments to existing laws.

Polly Neate, chief executive at Shelter, said: “Tens of thousands of renters face being turfed out of their home in the next six months if the government fails to act quickly. We need a wholesale and complete halt to all evictions while the coronavirus crisis unfolds.

“Right now, there are people all over the country who don’t know how they’ll pay their rent this month, let alone the next three. People are panicked about how they will reduce contact or self-isolate if they lose their home.

“We’re already hearing daily from terrified renters being threatened with eviction by irresponsible landlords, including vital NHS workers. This cannot be allowed to happen.

“The government has stepped to in to support mortgagees and it must now act decisively to help renters survive the current storm. It must legislate immediately to halt all eviction proceedings during this period of social disruption. This is an absolutely necessary emergency public health measure to keep people safe and in their homes.”

Anonymous examples of renters threatened with eviction from Shelter’s advice services:

Webchat conversation: A renter who works at an NHS hospital, says their landlord wants to evict them and the other tenants in the property, some of whom also work at the hospital, because he's scared, he will contract the virus off them. The landlord has confirmed that unless a cure in found in the next few weeks, they've all got to go.

Webchat conversation: A renter has been evicted while on holiday in Italy without notice. The landlord advised they were worried they would catch the virus, and this was the reason for the illegal eviction. The tenant offered to self-isolate for 14 days elsewhere before returning to the property, but the landlord still refused.

Webchat conversation: A renter whose landlord is scared of the virus has given them notice to end the tenancy purely for that reason. The landlord lives elsewhere but advised the tenant not to travel during 'troubled times' and asked to see their passport. The tenant went to Italy over Christmas and is worried the landlady will throw them out immediately if she becomes aware of this. Five other people living in the house too.

Additional support needed to help renters pay their housing costs

• The government needs to ensure struggling renters can cover private rents during this period of uncertainty, as many will lose income. This means increasing housing benefit, so it covers the average cost (50thpercentile) of rents in any local area. 
• It should also ensure people are able to top up their income from day one by suspending the five-week wait for all new Universal Credit claims during this period. To do this quickly, the government should make the advance payments a grant instead of a loan. 

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. The 50,000 estimate is based on figures from the same period in 2019. This refers to all landlord possession claims in England Q2-3 2019. Mortgage and landlord possession statistical tables: October to December 2019, Table 8: Mortgage and landlord possession workload in the county courts of England, Ministry of Justice
2. There are 20,559,243 renters in England, English Housing Survey 2018/19 Headline report, Annex Table 1.3: Demographic and economic characteristics, 2018-19, MHCLG
3. 63% of private renters have no savings and 83% of social renters have no savings. English Housing Survey 2017/18 Annex table 2.5: Savings by tenure: MHCLG
4. There are 1.47 million rented households in England headed by over 65s  English Housing Survey 2018/19 Headline report, Annex Table 1.3: Demographic and economic characteristics, 2018-19, MHCLG
5. In order to immediately halt all possession orders and bailiff warrants government would need to make amendments to the Housing Act 1985 and 1988, the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the County Courts Act 1984.