Fewer property possession claims at Sheffield court

Fewer property possession claims were made at Sheffield's county court in the lead up to the coronavirus lockdown, figures show.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Ministry of Justice data shows 288 property possession claims were submitted to the county court at Sheffield between January and March, that is a 39 per cent fall compared with the same three months in 2019 .

It reflected the picture across England and Wales as a whole, where mortgage and landlord possession claims fell by 20 per cent to 29,000 in the same period. The Ministry of Justice said this was driven by ‘actions around Covid-19’.

Read More
South Yorkshire house fire figures drop to an all time low
Robert JenrickRobert Jenrick
Robert Jenrick
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick recently extended a ban on new evictions from social and private housing for two months until the end of August, meaning no renters will be forced from their home over the summer.

He said: “No-one will be evicted from their home this summer due to the coronavirus.

“We are working with the judiciary on proposals to ensure that when evictions proceedings do recommence, arrangements are in place to assist the court in giving appropriate protections for those who have been particularly affected by the coronavirus.”

However, Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, warned the ban has not stopped those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic from building up rent arrears.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said although the Government has reset the clock on the evictions ban, ‘it is only a stop gap’.

She said: “Even if they have a plan to pay them back, these debts will throw struggling renters straight back into the firing line of an automatic eviction as soon as the ban does lift.

“Judges must be given the power to stop people losing their homes because of the coronavirus, otherwise the country will face a tidal wave of homelessness after August.”

The Covid 19 crisis has reduced county court activity, with a 9 per cent fall in all types of claims nationally compared with the same period last year. In Sheffield, claims dropped by 25 per cent.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The court also saw 132 judgements made between January and March this year - a decrease of 35 per cent, while the number of warrants issued fell by 24 per cent to 275.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus l ockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.