Tenant evictions down 15 percent

A total of 5,900 tenants were evicted from their homes last year, a 15 percent decrease compared to 2013. This is despite the fact that there was a significant increase in the number of tenants with rental arrears. 

This is according to figures from Aedes, the association of housing corporations, based on a survey done among 180 housing associations. At the end of last year tenants had a joint payment arrears of 350 million euros with housing association, almost 100 million euros more than the year before. The number of eviction warrants rose slightly with 2 percent to 23,500.

The main reason for eviction last year was rental arrears - 85 percent. Other reasons included cannabis cultivation, subletting, housing fraud and disturbances. Housing corporations managed to prevent eviction in seven out of ten cases after the judge gave an eviction warrant by talking with the tenants. Corporation agreed on payment plans to collect rental arrears with 58 thousand tenants.

According to Aedes, housing corporations also put in a lot of effort to prevent the rapid increase of rental arrears. They make home visits, call the tenants and refer tenants to support agencies. They also make agreements with, among others, municipalities, welfare organizations and debt counseling organizations.