Record number of tenants evicted from their Coventry homes

[dutchman]

A record number of tenants were evicted from their privately rented homes in Coventry last year.

The Ministry of Justice said 288 homes were repossessed in the city in 2015, the highest figure since 2003, showing more and more people are struggling to pay their rent.

Coventry Citizens Advice Bureau has seen a 100 per cent rise in enquiries relating to homelessness over the last year and blames the government cuts to benefits and changes to the benefits system.

The latest Coventry figures for tenant repossessions represented a 14 per cent rise compared to the 2014 total of 252.

Private rents have been rising above inflation for years and now outstrip the cost of a mortgage in most areas.

Sophie Parks, communications and marketing manager for Coventry CAB said of the number of people the service was helping: “We have seen a 100 per cent rise.

“The cost of living and low wages are factors but undoubtedly it is welfare reforms that are the predominant cause.”

That view was backed up by John Clarke, better known as Nobby, a former firefighter who plays a key part in helping Coventry’s homeless.

Nobby, from Tile Hill, who helped open the very first Coventry Winter Night Shelter, said the rise could be attributed to the Government’s benefit cuts and more stringent rules on claiming benefits.

He said: “There is no doubt it’s a combination of factors, chief among them are the financial factors, resulting from government changes to the benefits system.

“The figures would probably be far worse than they actually are if it weren’t for the fact a lot of hard work is going on in the homelessness sector in Coventry to resolve these issues.

“There are significant changes to benefits and people are being sanctioned to a level that affects their ability to sustain a tenancy.”

Mr Clarke said he had seen cases where people simply walked away from tenancies because changes in the welfare system meant they could no longer afford to pay the rent.

He cited one example of a man whose wife died and benefit changes saw him receive a £500 backdated bill which prompted him to give up his property - before the bailiffs came knocking.

Mr Clarke added: “As much as people think squeezing benefits should force people back into work the squeezing of benefits in itself forces people to struggle.”

Mr Clarke said he also believed the trend towards zero hours contracts and cash in hand employment is making the problem worse, with many people not able to plan financially and ending up struggling to the point where they lose their tenancy.

[rebbonk]

I find this very troubling, and I think it'll get much worse.