DOZENS of homes in Bradford were repossessed by landlords and mortgage lenders last year, figures show.

Debt charity StepChange said more people across England and Wales have lost their homes since emergency Covid-19 financial measures ended, and that further government support may be needed.

Ministry of Justice figures show 83 Bradford homes were repossessed in 2021 – 65 evictions of renters, and 18 by mortgage lenders. This was down from 85 in 2020, and fewer than the 346 in 2019.

Across England and Wales, there were 10,195 repossessions in 2021 – up from 8,608 the year before.

Bailiff-enforced evictions were banned for a large part of 2020-21 – a measure introduced by the Government to prevent renters from becoming homeless during the pandemic – though the ban was lifted in England on May 31 last year.

Sue Anderson, head of media at StepChange, said emergency measures to suppress landlord evictions and mortgage repossessions were "instrumental”.

The MoJ figures show the number of claims lodged to repossess homes in Bradford rose last year.

In 2021, 479 claims to repossess homes were lodged by mortgage lenders and landlords – up from 315 in 2020, but below 1,149 in 2019.

Of the claims lodged last year, 328 were evictions of renters, and 151 by mortgage lenders.