Tenants faced with eviction must have legal aid, the Law Society of England and Wales claims.

Recently published statistics from the Ministry of Justice for October to December 2023, show that mortgage possession claims increased by 39 per cent and evictions increased by 14 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.

All landlord possession actions, including eviction orders, have increased compared to the same quarter in 2022. Thirty-six per cent of all landlord possession claims were social landlord claims and 31 per cent were private landlord claims.

Law Society vice president Richard Atkinson says: “The rising number of evictions and repossessions remains a significant worry, as we are deeply concerned about the state of the housing legal aid system.

“With the cost-of-living crisis and high interest rates, many are struggling with rent and mortgage payments. For those at risk of losing their home, access to housing legal aid becomes vital.

“Yet our research has found that 25.3m people do not have a local legal aid provider for housing advice. More and more firms can no longer afford to offer this service, as legal aid rates have decreased by almost 50 per cent since 1996.

“This means that those on low incomes cannot receive the advice they are legally entitled to. Furthermore, those who are unable to access legal aid will be forced to represent themselves, which will place additional pressure on the courts and exacerbate court delays.

“The government’s failure to increase housing legal aid has weakened the justice system and robbed those who face evictions and repossessions of assistance which may enable them to avoid becoming homeless.

“We urge the UK government to immediately invest in housing legal aid to ensure that people are able to access the legal help needed to stay in their homes.”