1 in every 59 Hillingdon Households Under Repossession Threat

I have expressed my worries about the threat of repossession that is looming over the heads of so  many of my constituents as the housing charity Shelter has revealed that Hillingdon is on the national top 20 areas for court actions by mortgage companies and landlords seeking to repossess their properties.

Nationally 1 in every 105 households in England are at risk of eviction or repossession, according to new statistics released by Shelter.

The charity has identified hotspots up and down the country where people face the highest likelihood of losing their home, as part of its emergency fundraising appeal to help homeless children this Christmas. 

The research, based on recorded court proceedings, found that the London borough of Newham has the highest risk of repossession or eviction in the country. Here as many as 1 in every 35 homes are at risk.

The research highlights the extent of the capital’s housing crisis, with London boroughs –where affordable housing is in particularly short supply – dominating the top twenty.

The Shelter report identifies that on the latest figures there were 1694 court claims by mortgage companies and landlords in Hillingdon issued between October 2012 and 30^th September 2013. This is one in every 59 households in the area.

These figures are truly shocking and demonstrate how the economic recession has hit local families really hard. It is devastating that so many local families are faced with the threat of losing the very roof over their heads. As the chief executive of the housing charity, Campbell Robb, said it is a frightening reminder that homelessness can happen to anyone. 

·         Table showing the 30 local authorities with the highest rate of possession claims:

 

Rank (national)	Local Authority	Region	Number of mortgage and landlord possession claims	Rate of mortgage and landlord possession claims – 1 in x households
	England		209,792	1 in 105
1	Newham	London	2,905	1 in 35
2	Barking and Dagenham	London	1,956	1 in 36
3	Haringey	London	2,758	1 in 37
4	Brent	London	2,876	1 in 38
5	Southwark	London	3,021	1 in 40
6	Hackney	London	2,549	1 in 40
7	Lewisham	London	2,509	1 in 46
8	Greenwich	London	2,177	1 in 46
9	Enfield	London	2,520	1 in 48
10	Waltham Forest	London	1,995	1 in 49
11	Lambeth	London	2,621	1 in 50
12	Tower Hamlets	London	1,973	1 in 51
13	Croydon	London	2,784	1 in 52
14	Ealing	London	2,277	1 in 54
15	Islington	London	1,626	1 in 58
16	Hillingdon	London	1,694	1 in 59
17	Nottingham UA	East Midlands	2,117	1 in 60
18	Luton UA	East of England	1,241	1 in 60
19	Westminster	London	1,728	1 in 61
20	Salford	North West	1,685	1 in 61
21	Redbridge	London	1,607	1 in 62
22	Peterborough UA	East of England	1,183	1 in 63
23	Newcastle upon Tyne	North East	1,869	1 in 63
24	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	1,620	1 in 63
25	Hammersmith and Fulham	London	1,277	1 in 63
26	Manchester	North West	3,186	1 in 64
27	Oldham	North West	1,382	1 in 65
28	Slough UA	South East	782	1 in 65
29	Stevenage	East of England	536	1 in 65
30	South Tyneside	North East	980	1 in 69

 

·         Figures are based on possession claims issued in county courts between 1 October 2012 and 30 September 2013 (Ministry of Justice), compared with the number of households in the area (Census 2011).

 

·         A possession claim is the first stage in a process which can end with the loss of a home.

 

• For further information and maps refer to the ‘Eviction and Repossession Hotspots 2013 Data’

·         Children in temporary accommodation figures for Britain compiled from: 

·         The England figure published by the DCLG

·         The Scotland figure published by the Scottish Government

·         The Wales figure, estimated by applying an average number of children in a homeless household (derived from information published by the Welsh Government) to the number of households with children in TA in Wales (also published by the Welsh Government).