Government launches digital possession service as full rollout looms

I don’t know why this isn’t on the news more.

Here is the last Possession I did myself without a solicitor:

So 4 May, I give her Section 21 also. Council & Police moves her into hostel 60 miles away.

Anyway, early August, I start the Court proceedings through PossessionFriend, as it’s madness now to do this yourself with every Judge in the Country chucking the case out cause u did some’at wrong 27 years ago.

Reading the 20 page form & requirements is enough to give you heart attack. Court wants a boiler certificate BEFORE she moved into the property. It’s had a new boiler in since then Judge, so completely irrelevant, just a tactic to prevent the Landlord getting house back which we know we now TAKE NO ONE other than perfect-Future tenants lose.
No one told me 10+ years ago You MUST save every single bit of paperwork.
Have to print the N5B Court possession form 20 pages first, sign, scan them. Then print 3 THREE copies, one for the court, one for the tenant, one for back to me I think or maybe for Angela Rayner.
Total 60 pages.
Then THREE copies of each all the documents below:
Tenancy 4 pages Total 12 pages
Section 21 2 pages Total 6 pages
Certificate of service N215 2 pages Total 6 pages. We have to print a N215 certificate of service-Why?
Boiler certificates last 3 years Total 9 pages
EPC 4 pages Total 12 pages
How to rent 8 pages Total 24 pages. Why do we have to print 8 pages the How to rent Guide from 2016? Why?
Total 129 pages-Printer ran out of paper twice. Good job I’m greedy rich Landlord & got paper in reserve.
We have to mark each page with letters as instructed by the court form.
Big black pen top right hand corner 3/4 inch high letter.
Have to buy some Treasury tags to tie all the papers together with holes in, no paper clip.
Have to buy some Big large B4 envelopes you can’t find easy. £13.27
And you CANNOT email the court the documents. Why?

It doesn’t say How we pay the excruciating £391 court fee.

Fri 23 Aug 2024 I post off the form Recorded Delivery. £5.99 Total so far £1305.26

Thurs 29 Aug Court rings me. Says I’ve not paid.
I say Yes Please show me where it says How to pay on the form.
He says I should know how to pay as I’ve wrote £391.
I say I don’t know how to pay, I’ve had to pay someone else to fill this form in as they too complicated in 2024 to do.
I say Please show me where it says How to pay.
He says it doesn’t, u can do complaint if u like. He then admits Yes we are trying to get these procedures changed.
I say it’s pathetic for Nottingham County Court in 2024 to not have simple stuff like this on form. Tenants are being hurt cause you driving us Landlords to not reletting to normal low earners again.
He says I get a letter next few days and tenant has 14 days to file a defence.
I say is this the one where I don’t hear anything again and it’s up for me to remind the court to do the possession. He says Yes.

31 Aug I receive the dreaded letter I can’t understand. Which also says if defendant doesn’t file a defence, you may ask the court to make a possession order. Now hang on a minute, isn’t that why I sent off the 129 pages and paid £391? How do I know tenant hasn’t filed defence? Oh no, the court won’t tell me that, I have to ring up and find out. Surely any normal organisation would start the proceedings off if tenant doesn’t reply would they not? What’s the alternative, we just wait here and the court keeps my £391. Utter bonkers or am I missing something? Just start the ruddy possession procedure if tenant doesn’t reply. So I’ve got to contact the court and ask the question. Cause the court won’t contact me and tell me she’s not replied. How am I supposed to know? Another Anti Landlord slow the process down procedure.

Wed 18th September, I fill another form in, Request for an Order.
I ring Nottingham Court to ask if a defence been filed. The phone number says they no longer accept calls, I’m to ring 0300 1235577.
I ring that number, it’s a main line for all courts it seems. I spend 2 mins listening to the automated message telling me everything I didn’t need to know.
It has warnings about Please don’t abuse our staff. I then spend minutes navigating a menu that is confusing. And repeatedly asks you if you want to talk to someone.
8 Mins later it tells me I’m no 35 in the queue.
35 mins I give her the claim number, which is poorly hand written, she can’t find the claim.
Just for my Reference is L01NG232
I ask How do we know if a defence has been filed? She says I would get some correspondence from the court ONLY if something has happened. So otherwise I wun’t hear anything & sit here like lemon.
She says looking at screen, no updates beyond 30 August.
41 mins of my life wasted.
Thurs 19 Sep 2024 I post off the form.

Should you get the possession order, you then have to wait another 14 days of it being served, as the tenant may apply to set it aside or varied.

Some of these Landlords/Landlady’s are 70 80 years old, they just want to retire. They never said I will give you a home forever. They didn’t sign up to go to prison if tenant takes battery out smoke alarm. Had these procedures not be so hard, there would be plenty of other Landlords willing to give any tenant a chance. Landlords would buy the house with the tenant in. These procedures are making that impossible for the tenant to stay in their own home.

Again, you making me never give a future tenant a chance again.

It’s enough to make you cry

I din’t sign up to this when I let the tenant move in 20 years ago. I wun’t have gave these benefit tenants a chance with these rules.

Now why in 2024, can u not email the court the notice? 20 page document we have to print, sign, post off. Why? Everything is mean’t to make it hard for the Landlord to carry this out. But Mr Govt, do u think you are helping the tenant here? Current tenant you are. But you now making it worse for the next 1000 tenants, just as every new anti Landlord rule/law/reg you’ve bought in since 2015-Your attack Landlord methods are REALLY HURTING the tenants.

30 Oct 2024 I receive the possession order for date 29 Oct 2024 without having to go to court, which is good. Maybe because tenant signed saying she doesn’t want to contest it & only needs the order so the Council will help her.
So this is almost 6 months since started the process. And we haven’t started bailiffs yet, so where do Govt & Shelter get 2 months from & u out?

The last possession I did to bailiff stage, you have to
Fill in a N235 form request for warrant possession
Enclosed the Court Order-The same order they already have on their system
They POST me back a letter
I then have to POST a risk assessment form back.
They then WRITE again, not email, telling me the date, of which I can’t make.

Good Post, which I’m sure is not uncommon.

It’s been made more difficult now days simply because councils don’t have the resources to house many of those that are evicted. They expect the landlord to deal with the problem.

As you say, anyone who does not take on the “Perfect Tenant” with Guarantors etc, only has themselves to blame.

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 07/09/2026 – 14:55
Wow

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 07/09/2026 – 14:55
This is a ridiculous process, clearly designed to delay eviction and repossession for as long as possible, and cost the landlord yet more.

I’m 2019, I approached the MoJ with an AI-driven process for courts automation, starting with a quick and easy win… Online Evictions, which would remove any subjectivity by judges; the law is the law! I was told the MoJ was already investing £millions in new systems and I would not be considered.

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 07/09/2026 – 14:55
Just read it all … and I pray that a quick resolutions to this whole situation we as landlords and tenant’s are facing