Court section 8 hearing delays?
I submitted a section 8 and section 21 claim on 28 October, and I now have a hearing date of 4 March 2026. That is 158 days or 23 weeks approximately. (Canterbury Court)
It is one thing to be backlogged, but it is another thing for the Courts to be coy about the state of delays. A customer-facing service should be open about the delays, especially as it is a parameter in making the best choice to reduce losses.
A section 21 claim alone might be decided in 6 weeks and cost £404 in court fee. A combined section 21 and section 8 claim would cost the same £404, but the hearing delay is in my case 23 weeks. This implies an extra 17 weeks’ rent loss.
One could alternatively issue section 21 and if it fails, issue a section 8 claim later (having served the section 8 14 days earlier). If it succeeds, then one could issue a MCOL claim, which is cheaper than the £404 court hearing.
Without knowledge of the Court backlog, it is very difficult to make this calculation. It is a sad reflection on the government that in spite of the Court fee having doubled in the last 10 years, the delays have become worse.
SW
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Rents fall 12% across England as voids lengthen - Goodlord
Member Since May 2015 - Comments: 2198 - Articles: 2
10:11 AM, 4th November 2025, About 6 months ago
It took me two years at the same court to evict a dissident tenant and cost £12,000. One begins to wonder if a fine for an illegal eviction would be cheaper!
Member Since August 2023 - Comments: 10
10:24 AM, 4th November 2025, About 6 months ago
We all need to learn from these delays.
Try and ensure you have always have a guarantor, loss of rent insurance with legal cover and all paperwork is accurate and up to-date. Obviously there will be an increase in cost but as long as its justifiable, you can either up the rent and/or justify this as a cost and claim it.
Member Since August 2018 - Comments: 1
11:05 AM, 4th November 2025, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Rakesh Joshi at 04/11/2025 – 10:24
While I understand the importance of having a guarantor, it’s worth noting that a guarantor doesn’t automatically guarantee recovery of rent arrears. In reality, even with a guarantor, you may still face challenges if the guarantor lacks sufficient financial means, becomes uncooperative, or disputes liability. The same applies to loss of rent insurance, it depends heavily on the terms, exclusions, and claim conditions.
So, while these measures can provide some added protection, they don’t necessarily offer complete assurance that arrears will be recovered. Proper vetting, documentation, and ongoing risk management remain equally important.
Member Since July 2017 - Comments: 462
1:09 PM, 4th November 2025, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by TheMaluka at 04/11/2025 – 10:11
probably yes – change the locks and give the tenant in cash double what his/her posessions are worth, so he/she can’t claim to be out of pocket and move on. Let the tenant then make a claim for unfair and unwarranted eviction and let them wait several months for their case to be heard.
Member Since November 2016 - Comments: 47
2:07 PM, 4th November 2025, About 6 months ago
I read somewhere that the term accelerated possession procedure, no longer applies in the real world since covid times and that section 21 claims just go into the same queue as section 8 claims.
Member Since December 2021 - Comments: 161
8:30 AM, 5th November 2025, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by TheMaluka at 04/11/2025 – 10:11
Maybe we all need a central database of cases like this, that we can refer to, to make a judgement on how we proceed.
Just having a few random cases referred to in random posts gives us nothing to call upon when we need it most.
Wouldn’t it be great if an organisation like NRLA did it for it’s members!