Fewer property possession claims at Sheffield court
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
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 .
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Hide AdIt 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’.
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.
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Hide Ad“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.
She said although the Government has reset the clock on the evictions ban, ‘it is only a stop gap’.
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Hide AdShe 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.
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Hide AdThe 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.
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