Ome: Balanced view needed on lifting of tenant eviction ban

With the eviction ban for renters set to end next month Matthew Hooker co-founder of Ome has warned that people must take a balanced view as landlords face difficulties of their own. 

Landlords are set to see mortgage holidays come to an end and Hooker said evictions could come out of financial necessity rather than greed.

He said: “As the government starts to peel back the plaster of pandemic support we’ve seen implemented over the last few months fears that many could now be removed from their rental homes are understandable.

Hamilton Fraser sees rental deposit disputes drop by 15%

“However, for every tenant fearing eviction, there is also a landlord no longer able to rely on a buy-to-let mortgage holiday to help them get by.

“It’s important that we take a balanced view in this respect and appreciate that these evictions will be born out of financial necessity rather than greed on the part of the landlord.

“The reality is that even with the ban of evictions lifting, it will be some months before tenants being served with an eviction will actually have to leave their home.

“There is already a huge backlog of evictions that were lodged prior to the pandemic currently sat frozen in limbo. With the ban now lifting and likely to bring a huge spike in new cases, it will take much longer than usual for this vast number to be processed.

“Our advice for any tenant would be to keep communication open with their landlord. Many landlords won’t want to go down the eviction route, but some simply won’t have a choice.

“In this instance, tenants should do all they can to cut back on their outgoings and look to save a deposit for a new rental property.”