Section 21 deadline drove record landlord possession claims

Landlords rushed to get possession claims into court before the Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions deadline, yet fewer regained their properties that quarter.

Ministry of Justice figures put accelerated claims at 12,156, a quarterly record and 68% more than a year earlier.

The Renters’ Rights Act abolished Section 21 on 1 May, but cases where valid notices had already been served could still proceed.

For those landlords, 31 July was the last date to start court proceedings, or sooner if their notice expired before then.

Section 21 deadline rush

Paul Shamplina, the founder of Landlord Action, said: “These figures show just how extraordinary the final rush to use Section 21 was.

“Landlords knew the clock was ticking, and thousands raced to get their claims into court before the door closed.”

He added: “We saw the pressure first-hand.

“A significant proportion of our July instructions involved getting existing Section 21 cases progressed before the deadline, and I suspect some landlords also brought forward possession action as a precaution.”

Landlord repossessions fall

Across all possession routes, landlords issued 28,249 claims between July and September, up 21% on the same quarter last year.

Actual repossessions fell, however, with 6,886 recorded during the quarter, a drop of 10%.

Landlord Action says some landlords are now pursuing rent arrears earlier, using discretionary grounds rather than waiting until they qualify for mandatory possession.

The median time from a possession claim to repossession fell to 25.9 weeks, compared with 27.4 weeks a year earlier.

Possession advice takes longer

July was one of Landlord Action’s busiest months for instructions in the past year as landlords sought to progress cases before the deadline.

Instructions then dropped by almost 50% in August before recovering by 30% in September.

Initial consultations are taking considerably longer, the firm says, as landlords struggle to understand the new possession rules.

The firm says it is still too soon to establish how the revised framework will affect court proceedings and possession times.