About 20 households face eviction daily in Manchester

Due to the weak economy and flat wages, as well as increasing rental costs, around 20 households are facing eviction each and every day. This is based on surveys of tenants that are requesting help from Shelter, the national housing charity. While that may not seem like a large number, this is about 60 people per day, or around 20,000 individuals per year. This is about 2 to 3% of the population in Manchester.

In addition, that number of evictions is understated. This is the case as Shelter only includes the number of possession claims files in the Manchester courts. It is well known that a large number of tenants are so far in arrears that they may either just vacate the home, or they agree to move out with approval of the landlord and they in effect give up their flat without a fight. So that roughly 2 per cent of households facing eviction would be much higher if these other individuals were counted, and no authority or organisation knows what that number would be.

Another factor holding down this per cent is that it also does not include the thousands of Manchester residents that may fall into occasional rent arrears, or that struggle to come up with the money each month to pay their landlords. Tens of thousands of additional families often cut back on their food or turn down the heat in their homes in order to free up their income for their housing payments, so while 20,000 per year is a large number of evictions that have gone through possession claims, the number of people struggling is much higher.

One of the major culprits of these evictions is the high cost of rents in the private sector market. Not only are landlords increasing them each year or even monthly, but most people have flat wages and they are either not receiving an increase in their earnings, or the raise they are receiving is less than inflation. They also have little or no savings to fall back on, with a larger per cent of people actually in debt to credit card companies or other lenders. The still weak economy in Manchester and across the UK is not helping matters.

The b is also hurting families in Greater Manchester. With benefits being cut for many, and some people now needing to claim the Universal Credit, this is presenting challenges for the low income who rent their home in the private sector. This challenge tends to be greater in the northern UK than in the southern, and MPS in the region are concerned with the continued focus on welfare reductions.

This is leaving tens of thousands of households in dire need of assistance to pay for expenses ranging from fuel bills to rent or other household expenses. While times are difficult, there are some non-profits or schemes that can provide assistance, and fine Manchester rent help.

Many people are finding it harder to keep a rough over their heads. If they miss one pay cheque due to an illness or maybe someone in the home losing their job, this can quickly lead to homelessness. It is always recommended tenants in Manchester seek advice before falling behind, as if they receive an eviction notice, it will be too late and this problem will continue to grow.