Holiday horrors: Thousands facing eviction this festive period
Research from Tlyfe revealed over 2,000 tenants are expected to lose their homes in the three months leading up to Christmas.
Today, Thursday 12th December, new research was published by a number of different housing experts that shows the Christmas period isn’t always the most wonderful time of the year.
Data from Tlyfe, a software designed to help estate and lettings agents connect all elements of the property market, outlines around 2,425 tenants are expected to lose their homes in the three months leading up to Christmas, from October to December.
What’s more, research from Bentham and Reeves – a London-based lettings and estate agent – estimates 876 mortgaged homeowners are set to see their properties repossessed before the year ends.
Though the news is upsetting, it isn’t shocking. Figures show that in the rental market, repossessions have increased throughout 2024, with a rise of 6.9% in Q1 compared to Q4 2023.
Things seemed to get slightly better in Q2 as the number of repossessions experienced fell by 1.6% versus Q1, but numbers began to hike again in Q3 by 4.4%.
Adam Pigott, CEO of OpenBrix, said: ‘No tenant wants to lose their home, particularly in the run up to Christmas, but rental market repossessions are an unfortunate reality that thousands of tenants face each and every year.
‘It’s important to note that such evictions aren’t always the fault of the tenant, and this can make it a particularly bitter pill to swallow.
‘Not only do they face the instability that comes from losing their home, but they’re also thrust back into the rental market fray and forced to undergo the often-laborious task of finding another rental home.’
‘Unfortunately, if you are facing an eviction, the outcome is often inevitable,’ Adam continued. ‘Our advice would be to get ahead of the game while proceedings are ongoing and get back in the market.’
Commenting on the buyers’ market, Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, remarked: ‘2024 has largely been a story of positivity where the property market is concerned, and we’ve seen more buyers returning and house prices climbing steadily over the course of the year.
‘We’ve also seen two long awaited reductions to the base rate, but despite this, mortgage rates simply haven’t reduced by as much as expected – in fact, they’ve largely trended upwards.
‘This has meant that homebuyers have continued to contend with affordability constraints and those already on the ladder have also been contending with the significant increase in borrowing costs seen in recent years.
‘Those who have come to the end of a 5-year fixed term, for example, will have seen a huge jump in the mortgage payment required, having originally taken a mortgage out when the base rate was sub one percent, while now renegotiating terms when it sits at almost five percent.’
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