Fall in number of Wigan homes seized through the courts

Fewer property possession claims were made at Wigan’s county court in the lead-up to the coronavirus lockdown, figures show.
Bailiffs in ActionBailiffs in Action
Bailiffs in Action

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.

But charity Shelter said although the move will buy time for vulnerable tenants weeks away from potentially losing their home, it is “only a stop gap”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ministry of Justice data shows 196 property possession claims were submitted to the county court at Wigan between January and March.

Of those, 34 were from mortgage lenders, while the rest were made by social and private landlords.

Claims had fallen by 25 per cent compared to the same three months in 2019, the figures show.​

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 MoJ said this was driven by “actions around Covid-19”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Financial Conduct Authority confirmed that mortgage payment holidays, first introduced in March, would be extended for borrowers hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

A suspension of housing possession proceedings to protect private and social renters has also been extended until August 23.

However, Shelter chief executive Polly Neate warned the ban hasn’t 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”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“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,” she added.

“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 nine per cent fall in all types of claims nationally compared to the same period last year. In Wigan, claims dropped by ​one per cent.

The court also saw nine judgements made between January and March this year - a decrease of ​10 per cent from 2019 - while the number of warrants issued fell by 18 per cent to 146.