Understanding Social Housing Evictions In Wales
S OCIAL R ESEARCH N UMBER :32/2019P UBLICATION DATE :17/07/2019Understanding Social HousingEvictions in WalesMae’r ddogfen yma hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg.This document is also available in Welsh. Crown Copyright 2019ISBN: 978-1-83876-802-7
Understanding Social HousingEvictions in WalesReport by Opinion ResearchServicesViews expressed in this report are those of the researcher and notnecessarily those of the Welsh GovernmentFor further information please contact:Name: Rhian DaviesDivision: Social Research and Information DivisionWelsh GovernmentCathays ParkCardiffCF10 3NQTel: 03000 256791Email: Rhian.Davies45@gov.wales
Table of contentsList of tables. 2List of figures. 2Glossary of acronyms . 31.Introduction/Background . 62.Methodology. 83.Findings: Eviction rates & reasons, processes & challenges . 124.Findings: mitigating against risk, eviction prevention, support provision & bestpractice. 385.Conclusions. 611
List of tablesTable 1: Rates of possession orders, eviction warrants and evictions (per thousand units),by provider . 13Table 2: Ranked rates of possession orders, eviction warrants and evictions (per thousandunits), by provider . 15Table 3: Organisations with the ten highest and ten lowest eviction rates: further details . 19List of figuresFigure 1: Rates of eviction warrants and evictions (per thousand) by provider . 17Figure 2: Extent to which providers find the Pre-action Protocol for processing claims useful(counts of providers). 22Figure 3: Types of possession notice used most frequently in 2018 . 23Figure 4: How often providers were able to negotiate a settlement before court in 2018 . 26Figure 5: Reasons for issuing possession orders/evicting tenants (percentages). 29Figure 6: Reasons for issuing possession orders/evicting tenants (Counts) . 29Figure 7: Primary causes of evictions (based on respondents selecting their top three from alist). 31Figure 8: Types of tenants at greater risk of eviction, as suggested by respondents . 35Figure 9: Tenants and evictions: breakdown by household type (across all providers, whereknown) . 36Figure 10: Tenants and evictions: breakdown by gender (across all providers, where known). 37Figure 11: Counts of providers offering each type of support . 462
Glossary of acronymsAcronymFull Name / definitionACEsAdverse Childhood ExperiencesASBAntisocial BehaviourASISTApplied Suicide Intervention Skills TrainingAPAAlternative Payment ArrangementCABCitizens Advice Bureau.CIHThe Chartered Institute of HousingDHPDiscretionary Housing PaymentDWPDepartment for Work and PensionsHQNHousing Quality NetworkLALocal AuthorityLHA capLocal Housing Allowance capLSVTLarge Scale Voluntary TransferNoSPNotice seeking possessionPATH training‘Prevention, ACE’s, Trauma-informed Homelessness’;Supports the prevention of homelessness throughtrauma-informed approaches to meet people’s housingand support needsPIE approachesPsychologically Informed Environment approachesRSLRegistered Social LandlordSection 8 NoticeA notice used to serve notice on a tenant. The Section 8notice needs to show that the tenant has breached theconditions of the tenancy agreement, any term orcondition of the tenancy agreement that is seen to havebeen broken constitutes a breach.Section 21 NoticeA notice used to serve notice on a tenant. The Section21 notice can be used to evict tenants either: after afixed term tenancy ends - if there’s a written contract andduring a tenancy with no fixed end date - known as a‘periodic’ tenancy. Section 21 gives a landlord anautomatic right of possession without having to give anygrounds (reasons) once the fixed term has expired)3
SPOA teamSingle Point of Access team (provided via local authorityHousing Options Team)Tenancy SupportAssistance, funded via the Welsh GovernmentsSupporting People Programme, to people in their home,helping them to maintain their independence.UCUniversal CreditWLGAWelsh Local Government AssociationOther useful terminologyAcronymFull Name / definitionCounty linesCounty lines is a term used to describe gangs andorganised criminal networks involved in exporting illegaldrugs into one or more importing areas (within the UK),using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of ‘dealline’. They are likely to exploit children and vulnerableadults to move (and store) the drugs and money andthey will often use coercion, intimidation, violence(including sexual violence) or weaponsCuckooingA form of crime in which drug dealers take over thehome of a vulnerable or young person in order to use itas a base for drug dealingThe CitizensThe Citizens Advice Bureau is an independent charityAdvice Bureauthat offers a wide range of advice to clients and this(CAB)advice includes getting support to stay in their homes forclients with physical disabilities and mental healthproblems, getting repairs done, neighbourhood disputesand anti-social behaviour and debt work involving rentarrears and other debtsCommunityCHC represents more than 70 not-for-profit housingHousing Cymruassociations and community mutuals in Wales. CHC has(CHC)a Board and a Senior Management Group, supported byspecialist teams. CHC campaigns and lobbies on behalfof, and with, members to promote social housing andrelated services in Wales4
The CharteredThe Chartered Institute of Housing (Cymru) are theInstitute ofindependent voice of housing and the home ofHousing (CIH)professional standards in Wales. The aims of CIHCymru are to equip housing professionals with theknowledge, skills and ethical grounding to deliver a safe,secure and affordable home for everyoneCymorth CymruCymorth Cymru is the umbrella body for providers ofhomelessness, housing related support and social careservices in WalesShelter CymruShelter Cymru is an independent charity who providefree confidential housing advice to people in housingneed or threatened with homelessness and thehomeless. Shelter Cymru advise about 20,000 people ayear and operate across all 22 local authorities in WalesWLGAThe Welsh Local Government Association are arepresentative body that represent the interests of the 22local authorities across Wales and they do the bulk oftheir housing work with local authorities in terms of boththeir landlord role and strategic housing role.5
1.Introduction/BackgroundBackground1.1The Welsh Government register suggests that in March 2018, there were36 RSLs and 11 local authorities who provided social housing acrossWales. This accounts for just over 230,000 housing units, of which 62%were owned by RSLs and the remaining 38% by local authorities.1.2The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 came into effect in April 2015 anddemonstrated the commitment of the Welsh Government to strengthenhomelessness legislation with the aim of “fewer households experiencingthe trauma of homelessness”.1.3The Welsh Government ceased routine eviction data collection in2010/11, although social eviction data is still collected by the Ministry ofJustice1. Shelter recently produced a report2 acknowledging there is goodpractice within the sector, but it is not consistent across all sociallandlords. Moreover, a report undertaken by the Housing Quality Network(HQN) (commissioned by CHC, WLGA and the City and County ofSwansea) contains a range of recommendations on tenancy sustainmentfor landlords and local authorities, however it appears to have had limitedimpact3.Commission1.4Opinion Research Services (ORS) was commissioned by WelshGovernment in December 2018 to undertake quantitative and qualitativeresearch to understand the processes which lead to eviction, as well asthe support provided by social landlords to prevent evictions acrossWales.1.5The aim of the research is to understand: Current rates of social housing evictions and reasons for evictions; Current practice within social landlords as regards to social housingevictions (what are the criteria/processes that lead to eviction);1Ministry of Justice. (2018). Mortgage and landlord possession statistics.Shelter Cymru. (2016). Accessing and sustaining social tenancies: exploring barriers to homelessnessprevention.3Community Housing Cymru (2018). Assessing affordability and barriers to accessing social housing in Wales.26
What steps are undertaken/support provided before eviction action istaken to prevent reaching crisis point; and To provide the Welsh Government with robust evidence to informpolicy development and regulatory administration.1.6This involved ORS undertaking: An online survey to collect possession order, eviction warrant andeviction data for each social landlord in Wales; Follow-up in-depth telephone interviews with social landlords; and In-depth telephone interviews with key housing and homelessnessstakeholder organisations in Wales.1.7Recommendations from this work will contribute to Welsh Government’sfuture policy development around the effective and consistent use ofpreventative actions with the aim of reducing evictions from socialhousing in Wales.7
2.MethodologyQuantitative SurveyData collection2.1In order to collect eviction data, ORS hosted a quantitative online surveywhich Welsh social landlords (local authorities, LSVTs and RSLs) wereinvited to complete. ORS, working collaboratively with WelshGovernment to develop the questions, created the survey in their onlineCAWI system.2.2Contact details were provided by the Welsh Government, and thequestionnaire was emailed to the 47 main contacts on 25th February2019 and the survey was closed on Friday 3rd May 2019. Reminderswere emailed to non-responders on a weekly basis throughout thefieldwork period.2.3The questionnaire sought information about the organisation (e.g. thesize of its stock and demographic information about its tenants); thenumbers of possession orders, eviction warrants and tenants leaving theproperty between 1st January 2018 and 31st December 2018 for generaland sheltered housing (supported housing scheme data was notincluded); information about the types of support offered to tenants, andthe processes used; and, finally, views about the main risk factors thatcontribute to evictions and the types of pressures faced by landlords inthis area.2.433 respondents completed the online questionnaire. A further fivesubmitted information in an alternative format; this information has beenamalgamated with the questionnaire where possible. The total of 38responses represents 7 local authorities and 31 RSLs (including 10 largescale voluntary transfer organisations (LSVT)).2.5Although the results are not representative of every social housingprovider in Wales, the high response rate provides a robust reflection ofthe eviction landscape across Welsh social housing.8
Data analysis2.6It became clear throughout the exercise that the IT systems and the typeof information collected about tenants differs among organisations. Theonline survey was a complex data collection exercise which for someorganisations involved a considerable amount of work between differentdepartments to collate. In turn, a proportion of social landlords could notaccess the specific information required or explained that it is notcollected by their organisation. This meant some surveys were onlypartially completed and complete datasets were not always submitted.ORS contacted landlords who had left certain sections blank and wherepossible was able to gather the missing information.2.7In addition to the data processing, during the data analysis it becameclear that, in some cases, there were discrepancies or inconsistencies inthe information provided. These were identified by quality control checkson the data carried out internally by ORS. ORS attempted to contactlandlords to verify and query such inconsistencies and corrected the datawhere possible.2.8Due to the issues around not being able to access specific information,18 landlords partially completed the online survey. This mainly affectedinformation around overall tenant demographics, although, 10 landlordswhere unable to submit full data around the three stages of eviction(possession claims, warrants and evictions).2.9In the course of the research, it has also become apparent that theremay be small ambiguities in the way certain terms such as ‘evictions’ or‘tenants’ can be understood or defined. For example, when asked toprovide details on the number of tenants, there were inconsistencies interms of whether organisations included joint tenants, and some gaveinformation on all occupants currently housed. Moreover, there arevariations in the approaches different organisations (across the wholeestate) use to collect and extract data about their housing stock andtenancies, which affected the consistency of the information provided.9
2.10As such, the data is not necessarily definitive; however it does give anindication of the types of providers that may be more or less likely to evicttenants, as well as an overview of the main types of support offered andviews on the main causes of evictions.Qualitative interviews2.11Qualitative in-depth telephone interviews were undertaken with 24 sociallandlords who took part in the online data collection survey. The in-depthinterviews explored in more detail the eviction processes, the key issues,the best practice, and the support provided to avoid tenants losing theirhomes. In order to capture a range of views, a diverse group of landlords(RSLs, LSVTs and local authorities) of different sizes and with varyingpossession order, warrant and eviction rates across Wales wereinterviewed.2.12In addition, nine in-depth telephone interviews were undertaken with keystakeholders and organisations who work across the Welsh housing andhomelessness sector. This was in order to gain strategic insight intoreasons for eviction, eviction processes and how risks are mitigated. Thekey stakeholders included: Citizen’s Advice Cymru (CAB); CommunityHousing Cymru (CHC); The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Cymru;Cymorth Cymru; Shelter Cymru; Welsh Local Government Association(WLGA); a Housing Solutions Team; a social landlord board member;and a Shelter court representative.2.13The interviews took place between March and April 2019; each interviewlasted between 45-60 minutes and was undertaken by ORS’ qualitativeresearch team. Interviewees were assured of complete confidentialityand they were free to be as open and as honest as they wished insofaras they would not be named in this report. Names, specific organisationsand identifying comments have been removed from the verbatimcomments to ensure anonymity.2.14The in-depth interviews reported here gave a high proportion of sociallandlords the opportunity to be involved, although it should be noted thatqualitative approaches cannot be certified as statistically representativesamples of public opinion. The outcomes reported in this report are,10
therefore, reliable as examples of the reflections and opinions of a rangeof informed people on social housing evictions.2.15The views expressed by participants might or might not be supported byavailable evidence; that is, they may or may not be accurate as accountsof the facts. ORS cannot arbitrate on the correctness or otherwise ofpeople’s views when reporting them. This should be borne in mind whenconsidering the findings. Where possible any such issues are flagged upin the report.2.16Verbatim quotations are used throughout, in indented italics, for theirvividness in capturing points of view. ORS reports the opinions as givenand does not endorse the opinions in question.11
3.Findings: Eviction rates & reasons, processes & challengesIntroduction3.1Chapters 3 and 4 present the combined findings from the online datacollection survey and qualitative in-depth interviews.3.2The tables and charts are based on the survey data provided by thesocial housing providers as part of their responses to an onlinequestionnaire setup and hosted by ORS.3.3The in-depth interviews conducted with welsh social landlords and keystakeholders considered a wide range of important issues that arereported fully and structured to address each of the areas of discussionin some detail. The views of interviewees have been merged to give anoverall report of findings – but significant differences in views have beendrawn out where appropriate.Rates of possession orders, eviction warrants and evictions3.4Each housing provider who took part in the data collection survey wasasked to provide information about the numbers of possession ordersand evictions warrants they had issued. They were also asked to statethe actual number of evictions that had resulted from these warrants.3.5The results have been summarised in the table below and overleaf. Thevolume of each providers housing stock has been used along with theother data supplied, to calculate the rate of possession orders, warrantsand evictions per 1,000 units (i.e. so that any comparisons take intoaccount that the different organisations vary significantly in size).12
Table 1: Rates of possession orders, eviction warrants and evictions (per thousandunits), by providerSIZE(nearest100)No. ofunitsPOSSESSION ORDERSEVICTION WARRANTSEVICTIONSRate per 1,000 unitsRate per 1,000 unitsRate per 1,000 unitsLocal Authority A13,50026.126.07.5Local Authority B13,5009.46.51.9Local Authority C10,70019.212.02.0RSL A10,4001.71.31.3RSL B10,2008.12.82.4LSVT A10,20023.016.06.7LSVT B9,0006.14.33.0LSVT C8,90014.27.04.1LSVT D7,90019.017.95.6LSVT E6,300unknown4.32.2LSVT F6,10011.22.12.1Local Authority D5,700unknownunknown6.4RSL C5,600unknownunknown3.6Local Authority E5,30011.03.72.8RSL D4,60012.7Unknown3.2LSVT G4,1009.82.42.2RSL E3,90021.812.79.9Local Authority F3,80021.9Unknown2.1RSL F3,8007.95.01.8Local Authority G3,800Unknown2.60.0LSVT H3,5005.53.51.4RSL G3,2007.41.51.5RSL H3,2007.01.91.3RSL I3,10012.49.81.9RSL J2,90019.86.94.2RSL K2,8008.62.52.5RSL L2,70010.62.21.5RSL M2,3009.03.02.6LSVT I2,30011.62.62.6RSL N2,20020.97.73.2RSL O1,8009.32.72.2RSL P1,70082.16.93.5RSL Q1,60020.76.13.6RSL R1,4004.43.73.0RSL S1,20010.94.22.5RSL T1,10032.114.74.6RSL U90014.84.64.6RSL V25024.40.00.013
3.6Each organisation has also been ranked based on their rate ofpossession orders, eviction warrants and evictions per thousand units,which has been presented in Table 2 overleaf. In Table 2, Red shadingindicates that an organisation is among the ten highest in terms of itsrate; green shading indicates that
The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) The Chartered Institute of Housing (Cymru) are the independent voice of housing and the home of professional standards in Wales. The aims of CIH Cymru are to equip housing professionals with the knowledge, skills and ethical grounding to deliver a safe, secure and affordable home for everyone
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