The proportion of private rented sector (PRS) landlords seeking to evict tenants through the courts has risen from 21% of claims in July-September 2019 to 43% of claims in the same quarter of this year, new data from the Ministry of Justice has revealed.

Debt charity StepChange has welcomed a recently announced £65m fund to support renters in arrears.

The charity hopes to see the government monitor how the funds are disbursed and will look to support local authorities to ensure availability of funds is well signposted to those who are struggling.

Polling undertaken by Stepchange earlier this year found that among those who experienced a fall in income during the pandemic, 9% accessed local support such as a grant from a local authority or a foodbank, while 45% borrowed to make ends meet.

Richard Lane, Director of External Affairs at StepChange, said: “The fact landlord evictions remain low is a positive sign. It’s now important that the recent £65m fund created by the government to help renters in arrears is efficiently disbursed to keep things that way. We will seek to work with local authorities and the housing sector to ensure that those who are eligible for assistance can access it.

“However, a further increase on today’s figures can’t be ruled out. StepChange’s research has consistently highlighted renters as one of the groups most likely to have faced a prolonged loss of income or experienced a negative financial impact due to the pandemic.

“With cost of living pressures set to weigh heavy on households over the winter months, it’s therefore important the government carefully monitors court possession activity to assess the need for further funding. Its priority must be to prevent a continued increase in evictions and homelessness arising from pandemic-induced rent arrears.”