Tenants in arrears contributing to "all time high" of repossessions

Official figures released this month reveal that nearly half a million people are at risk of losing their homes because of the soaring cost of housing.

Some 204,689 possession orders were sent to rented and mortgaged properties in England between October 2013 and September 2014.

Charity Shelter said, based on the average household occupancy, this equated to 1,300 homeowners and tenants a day, or 474,500 a year, facing eviction.

Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said:

‘The sky-high cost of housing is making it harder and harder for families to keep a roof over their heads".

The charity’s statistical analysis also revealed more than 11,000 tenants had been evicted between July and September – the highest rate on record!

This is worrying news for landlords, not to mention that Christmas is also traditionally a time of dramatically increased rent arrears, as some tenants choose to fund the festive season, rather than pay their rent.

Many a time, a landlord chasing rent in the New Year has been told by their tenant that the rent was spent on presents for the kids!

To add to this landlord misery, one of the U.K.'s leading authorities on tenant evictions, Landlord Action, have claimed that "County courts are in chaos", with lost files, year-long delays and basic admin mistakes leading to extra costs for landlords and their agents.

Some landlords are facing repossession by their mortgage lenders as a result of the alleged breakdown because they are unable to meet their monthly payments, while non-paying tenants stay in situ. Yet tenants who need to be formally evicted in order to claim homeless status are also affected.

Landlord Action says the chaos is destroying people’s lives.

The firm claims that the county courts are completely under-resourced and have become overwhelmed by the number of possession claims.

The specialist eviction service company says it has become such a problem in the last three months that chasing up cases with the courts has become a full-time role for a member of its in-house legal team.

The firm points out that the vast majority of residential possession claims are dealt with in the county courts and enforced by county court bailiffs.

However, it says government spending cuts, an ever-growing number of possession cases (predicted to be up 15% on last year) and the order by some courts that bailiffs must no longer act alone, only in pairs, have combined to create serious delays in the eviction process.

What does this mean for landlords?

The risk of rental arrears is a risk that landlords have to bear, but adding to this the time taken to re-gain possession of a property, then the risk is multiplied and some landlords may feel that it is too much to shoulder and decide to exit.

However, when selling up, landlords then have to deal with the potential problem of void properties while they are waiting for a property sale to complete!

One simple solution might be to sell to a genuine cash buyer like ourselves.

We consider all types of property in England and Wales and will buy one property or an entire portfolio in a quick and straightforward transaction.

Open Property Group will also take on properties where the tenant is in rental arrears, or refusing to give vacant possession.

We have a proven track record of purchasing all types of property including those with problems quickly and with the minimum of fuss.

With over 30 years of combined experience of buying tenanted properties throughout England and Wales, we always endeavour to offer a fair price that works for the vendor but also works for our personal business model.

We offer a completely no-obligation appraisal of your property and will make an offer on it within 48 hours.

Open Property Group is a new name in the "quick sale of houses" sector with the mission to raise standards and improve customer experience. Give us a call on 0800 990 3939 to receive a no-nonsense cash offer for your property or send us an email at info@openpropertygroup.com