Whilst the Ministry of Justice says the Office for National Statistics figures show the highest repossession rates for both PRS tenancies and social tenancies are in London it also says the the increases were national.

From January to March 2023, claims were up 23%; Orders for possession were up 36%; warrants for possession up 52% and actual repossessions were up 69% compared to the same period last year. Accelerated possession procedures (section 21 repossessions) "have particularly risen across all action types, claims, orders and warrants" with the figures for England rising by 16%, 46% and 95% respectively.

The equivalent percentages (Accelerated procedure) for claims, orders and warrants in Wales are, astoundingly, 236%, 249% and 275% respectively and it is thought that one cause for this could be the introduction of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2022 leading to (or, to use the MoJ's words,"coinciding with") a sell off of properties by PRS landlords in Wales.

The MoJ figures also show that the "median average time" from claim to repossession has decreased from just over 27 weeks to just over 22 weeks.

The figures come as The Local Government Association (LGA), responding to a report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman marking the 5th anniversary of the Homelessness Reduction Act coming into force, said "Homelessness pressures, combined with depleted social housing stock and an unaffordable private rented sector feels like a perfect storm for already stretched council services."

Meanwhile StepChange, the debt advice charity, has just released a report - Trapped in Rent: Experiences of StepChange's debt advice clients renting in the private sector - which "examines a private rented sector (PRS) that is unaffordable, inaccessible and insecure for those on the lowest incomes, leaving them at high risk of problem debt, poor mental and physical health and prolonged housing insecurity." It says that 15% of private renters are in problem debt as compared to 8% of the general population and that, as of May 2023, the numbers of private renters in problem debt rose from 800,000 people to 1.1 million people.

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