This news follows months of reports outlining the increase in rent arrears, increases in rental rates and more financial difficulty for tenants throughout the country.
This has undoubtedly been an effect of the general economic climate of the country and the fragile job market and is only compounded by the colder weather and need to pay heating bills and other essential utilities.
The figure is a result of a survey carried out by the Homeless Charity, Shelter, which found that the 12 authorities which the highest risk rates are all based in London including Dagenham and Barking at the top of the list, followed closely by Haringey and Newham with Slough, Peterborough and Manchester having the highest eviction rates outside of London.
Lee Daniels, MD of Helpland, a specialist tenant eviction service said:
“This is not a new situation for landlords and tenants throughout the country, but remains regrettable for all parties involved. While there has been some growth in the buy top let sector, the economic climate has made things difficult for some tenants.
"Evictions are never an easy or desirable process, for both parties especially during the Christmas season.
"It is often easy to see the landlord as the villain in these situations but what you should remember is that landlords renting out properties are doing so because it is their livelihood and also have the right to fairness.”
The relationship between a tenant and a landlord is often dependant on both parties being fair, respectful and open.
For instance, a tenant may fall into arrears because of a sudden job loss, illness or other unforeseen and unavoidable occurrence; in this situation a little understanding from a landlord can go a long way in helping the tenant out and giving them more time to pull together the rent.
On the other end of the spectrum, tenants can simple be unreasonable and cause damage to the property or simply not pay the rent whilst avoiding all communication.
Lee Daniels continued:
“Tenant eviction is always something that a landlord will want to avoid, for both moral and practical reasons. Evicting a tenant this close to Christmas will most certainly appear to be callous but sometimes a landlord is left with no choice.
"The whole tenant eviction process can be confusing and time consuming, which is why we recommend that landlords use the services of an experienced and impartial eviction service to ensure that the procedure is done legally and fairly for both parties”.
