LANDLORDS in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole filed almost 150 repossession claims last year, new figures show.

Ministry of Justice figures show 146 claims to repossess a property were made by landlords in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole between October and December 2023 – roughly in line with the same quarter in 2022.

Of these, 83 were Section 21 notices.

Meanwhile, the figures also show tenants across England and Wales were evicted from their homes on approximately 6,600 occasions in the latest quarter, including 58 evictions in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

Of them, 33 evictions in the area were carried out by court ordered bailiffs as a result of Section 21 proceedings.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “We’re pleased to hear the Housing Secretary reaffirm his commitment to ban no fault evictions before the next election.

“But these figures show that renters are still being marched out of their homes in their thousands, while vested interests in Parliament manoeuvre to weaken urgently needed reforms.”

Francesca Albanese, executive director of policy and social change at homelessness charity Crisis, said: “These figures are a shameful reminder of just how volatile renting a home is.

“Insurmountable pressures of sky rocketing rents and the cost-of-living crisis have left renters struggling to make ends meet, and for many, that has meant losing their home.”

Ms Albanese added the Government must make renting fairer for both tenants and landlords and that the bill must include measures to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place.

Last week Michael Gove told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme the Renters (Reform) Bill currently going through Parliament “ends section 21”.

However, the Government last year said the abolition would not come in until reforms in the court system to ensure it is also a fair process for landlords.

This led to accusations ministers were deprioritising the issue, while charities and campaigners have demanded urgency on fulfilment of the pledge to ban section 21 no-fault evictions.

Asked whether the practice will have ended by the time of a national vote, Mr Gove said: “We will have outlawed it and we will put the money into the courts in order to ensure that they can enforce it.”