Government pledges bailiff reforms as court delays persist

Reply to the comment left by dismayed landlord at 05/08/2026 – 14:25
My worst ever tenant was a council employee.

Reply to the comment left by Paul Rush at 05/08/2026 – 10:55
In Reply to Paul,
The whole ting is rigged against the Landlord. Whilst the Landlord has to get everything perfect , Because if he looses he is liable for the Tenants cost .
It costs Nothing for the Tenant to give it ago , They can make a Statement to a Government Funded Solicitor over the Phone without any obligation to tell the truth.

On another Note

3 Months Rent arrears is easy to Prove . All we should need to do is send a rent statement to the tenant and the court. Unless the Tenant can prove he has actually made the Payment why can an order not be given. Why is it so drawn out.
(Council tax Style )

One simple change would drastically reduce needs for eviction and drastically reduce the likelihood of requiring bailiffs is this. The courts systems should be changed so that when a landlord takes a tenant to court. If the landlord wins the case the tenant has money deducted at source from their benefits or if working an attachment of earnings so that in the long term landlords will always be able to recover costs for court, debt, damage and rent arrears. This would mean immediate consequences for tenants which would drastically improve tenant behaviour. If this was the case a lot more properties would be offered for rent along with less likelyhood of evictions becoming necessary.

Reply to the comment left by John Hole at 06/08/2026 – 09:42
That makes a lot of sense and sounds like the voice of experience….so what information would you need to have on a tenant before the tenant is given the keys to a property to be able to go to Money Claims Online and be 90%-100% sure of being able to get an attachment of earnings if it all goes horribly wrong?

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 06/08/2026 – 11:03
I require all applicants to complete an application form which includes them having to supply there NAT Insurance number along with supporting docments, They are also credit, employer, Right to rent and AML checked. They also have to complete the next of kin and forwarding address details should we need to serve notice . It is easy for tenants to change contact details but if you have their nat ins number it is a lot easier.

Reply to the comment left by Sheralyne Stamp at 06/08/2026 – 11:28
OK that’s really helpful…so national insurance number along with supporting documents needs to be added to the list of things that you need before signing a rental agreement and allowing a tenant access to the property. And from your list it looks as though you need current employer details as well.

So, in summary, in addition to everything requested above from ALL applicants in order to be sure of being able to get an attachment of earnings via Money Claims Online you need to ASK for:

– National Insurance number
– Current employer details

Anything else?

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 06/08/2026 – 12:03
All persons applying for a property with me must complete a full application form. I then supply the relevant details to the company we use for full tenants checks, I also complete a full inventory of the property which the tenant has to sign to say they have received it and agreed with my findings. I also devised my own compliance form which identifies that all mandatory documents have been received by the tenant as the tenant has to sign this document. There are many things you can do its a matter of being compliant with the regulations.

Reply to the comment left by Sheralyne Stamp at 06/08/2026 – 12:14
Thank you for providing the voice of experience: I think that a standard, full application form is not only a good idea, but now critical for all landlords and all agents because the Labour Renters Rights Act introduced a requirement not to discriminate against tenants on benefits or tenants with children. I believe that if landlords get this wrong and DON’T have a standard application process then they are risking a fine of £7,000 or above.

But of course, coming back to the original article starting this thread, the courts aren’t working despite labour promising to fix them, and landlords need a standard application form/process to be able to assess the risk of each tenant and to be able to protect themselves now that no-fault evictions have been banned by the Labour Renters Rights Act.

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 06/08/2026 – 12:21
yes which is why all our applicants are vetted via a company we use which includes advising us if they meet the affordability, if they have adverse credit , how many CCJ’s and the amounts owed. They then advise either (Approve – Decline _ Accept with Guarantor, if a Guarantor is required we follow the same procedure and the Guarantor must sign a legal deed of guarantor

Reply to the comment left by Sheralyne Stamp at 06/08/2026 – 12:41
Does an employer ever act as a guarantor, and if so how does this work?