Rental property evictions held up ‘for months by court delays’

Court delays are holding up rental possessions for months – a situation that does not bode well for the planned abolition of Section 21 evictions.

That is the view of Chris Daniel of Possession Friend, which helps landlords and agents deal with repossessions.

He claims the current system is so broken that it is hard to see how its replacement won’t just make matters worse.

“There simply isn’t any confidence amongst landlords that the system will be improved in the event of Section 21 being repealed,” Daniel told The Negotiator.

He cites the case of a client who had a Section 21 possession claim granted on 17 November 2022, with a possession date of 1 December, 2022.

The court order for possession did not get typed and posted to the landlord until 14 February, 2023 –  two-and-a-half months later than the possession date, and nearly four months after the court ordered possession.

‘Tell me about your delays’

“The landlord has effectively been prevented from applying for a bailiff eviction warrant during this time,” said Daniel.

“What ‘confidence’ does this give landlords of government promises to ‘reform the possession process’ when Section 21 is abolished?”

Neg readers

Now Daniel is asking Negotiator readers to contact him about any delays they have experienced with possessions.

“If you’ve received a possession order some time after the date of possession awarded by the court, please let us know the name of the court, and how long after the possession date the order was made – we don’t want to know names or identities,” he explained.

Email the name of the court and how long after possession date, (eg Stratford, 10 weeks) to  [email protected].