The Law Society of England and Wales is calling for immediate investment in the justice system to support reform of the rental market.
This call comes as new quarterly figures published by the Ministry of Justice show a rise in renters at risk of homelessness.
The statistics also indicate that mortgage orders for possession increased by an incredible 38% (2,923 to 4,038), compared to the same quarter in 2023. Landlord possession orders rose 7% (from 17,987 to 19,254). This could lead to eviction for almost 25,000 people.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said: “The rising number of eviction orders reflects the alarming state of our housing crisis and the urgent need for rental reform.
“The cost-of-living crisis has meant that renters are increasingly at risk of losing their homes. When faced with repossession, renters should be entitled to legal representation and access to justice. However, an underfunded justice system has denied renters a fair chance in court due to lack of legal aid.
“It is deeply concerning that 25.3m people (42%) do not have a local legal aid provider for housing advice.** This means that there is no support for renters who cannot afford legal help.
“It is critical that the government invests in the legal aid system, so that renters have the help they need to avoid losing their homes.
“While we welcome the government’s Renters’ Rights Bill, it will struggle to achieve effective rental reform without funding the justice system and legal aid. The government must immediately invest £4.3 million in housing legal aid alongside the Bill to close this gap in provision.
“Labour must recognise that only a well-funded justice system can protect renters’ rights.”
I’m sorry, but this is the Aspergers in me spotting details others may miss.
So the Law Society want more help for tenants to SLOW down/STOP the eviction. Yet in the same breath, they acknowledge Mortgage repossessions rising. So instead of FINDING OUT WHY mortgage orders for possession are rising & why Landlords evicting, they want to prolong the agony of the Landlord even longer, more arrears, more repossessions. Now are these Law Society supposed to be clever people? Or have they ZERO common sense or lack forward thinking?
Help one tenant now who is not paying rent, CRUCIFY the Landlord, what happens next year? Can’t they see this or is my Asperger’s more qualified than their law degrees?
You’ve caused that Landlord demonstrable loss, pain, Mental health agony, he’s told all us other Landlord colleagues, we then accelerate our selling, the new Landlords buying DON’T house the sort of tenants that need your help.
Come and ASK Landlord WHY they evicting. You cannot solve a problem till you understand it. Ditch the Law Degree, come & get Asperger’s.
if you pressured the Govt for direct payment on UC direct payment & communication with Landlord, you’d solve 30% of homeless. The UC Landlord communication alone would save £6 billion in just overpayments.
If you scrapped Selective Licensing, you’d save 25% of homeless.
If you scrapped Section 24, you’d save 20% of homeless.
The list goes on.
Sort this out, the tenants would have somewhere affordable to live & wun’t need your help.
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Maybe the lawyers could work for free to help? They are basically suggesting someone else funds the tenants to pay them for more work. Absolutely correctthat root cause is being overlooked, it’s probably because fat cat rouge landlords are to blame. The only profession held in lower regard than Estate agents!!
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No, sorry, government is insisting on court case for possession. Government is also dictating the reasons for possession. If a tenant ends up in court, it will be because they have done something wrong, if they want to fight legitimate possession reasons, they need to cover the costs!
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No chance of funding legal help for landlords then? Thought not.
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