Nearly 150 residents faced losing homes

Nearly 150 people in Sunderland faced being evicted from their homes in the final months of last year, new figures show.

Ministry of Justice data shows 141 claim store possess properties in the area were lodged by mortgage lenders and landlords between October to December – 56 more than during the same period in 2021.

Of the claims, 34 were for homes owned by mortgage-holders while the rest were to evict tenants.

The figures show 42 tenants were evicted from their homes–putting them among 5,400 evictions in England and Wales. Of them, nine evictions in the area were carried out by court-ordered bailiffs as a result of Section 21 ‘no fault’ proceedings.

Nationally over 1,900 households were evicted during the last three months of the year through Section 21 proceedings–which allow landlords to remove tenants without a reason–morethan double the 790 from the same period in 2021.

Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said: “Every day we hear from desperate families who have been served with nofault eviction notices for daring to complain about poor conditions, or their landlord wants to cash in on rising rents or property prices.

“The Government has long promised it would scrap Section 21. It’s time the Government stopped stalling and changed the law.”

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “Ensuring a fair deal for renters remains a priority for the Government and we will deliver our commitment to abolish section 21 evictions as soon as we can.”