Landlords seeking to evict tenants are facing wait times of up to 16 weeks at the slowest-performing courts in England and Wales, according to data released by specialist firm LegalforLandlords.<\/p>\n
The analysis identifies Barnet County Court as having the longest processing times, with the majority of delayed courts located in London and surrounding areas. Birmingham also features among the most congested courts for eviction proceedings.<\/p>\n
The data reveals significant regional disparities in court processing times. While the worst-performing courts are experiencing delays of up to four months, the best-performing courts in Aldershot and Blackpool are processing cases within six to 10 weeks.<\/p>\n
London courts dominate the list of slowest venues, alongside Birmingham, suggesting concentrated pressure on urban court systems.<\/p>\n
The findings come ahead of the Renters\u2019 Rights Act, scheduled to take effect in May 2026, which will abolish Section 21 \u2018no-fault\u2019 evictions. Under the new legislation, landlords will be required to use Section 8 grounds for possession, which typically involve more complex legal procedures and allow tenants to challenge eviction attempts.<\/p>\n
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Sim Sekhon, Group CEO at LegalforLandlords, stated: \u201cThe fact that landlords are already waiting up to four months or more to regain possession of their properties highlights the significant strain our court system is under.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cEven if you\u2019re lucky enough to fall into one of the areas with shorter wait times, you\u2019re still looking at a potential delay of more than two months. With the abolition of Section 21 under the Renters Rights Act due to be enforced from May 2026, this is set to get even worse as cases become more complex and more heavily contested.\u201d<\/p>\n
The extended wait times present financial implications for landlords unable to collect rent or re-let properties during lengthy court proceedings. The anticipated increase in case complexity following the removal of Section 21 could further strain court capacity and extend processing times beyond current levels.<\/p>\n
The data provides landlords with regional benchmarks for eviction proceedings, though all areas currently face minimum delays of six weeks even in the best-performing courts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Landlords seeking to evict tenants are facing wait times of up to 16 weeks at the slowest-performing courts in England and Wales, according to data released by specialist firm LegalforLandlords. The analysis identifies Barnet County Court as having the longest processing times, with the majority of delayed courts located in London and surrounding areas. Birmingham […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-second-home"],"yoast_head":"\n