Landlords and letting agents are facing spiralling costs and unprecedented delays when trying to regain possession of properties through the courts, new research from the High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA) has revealed.
The average cost of evicting a tenant has now reached £12,708 across England and Wales and as much as £19,223 in London, where delays are at their worst. These figures represent the average rent lost per property during eviction proceedings and reflect a growing strain on both landlords and the wider rental sector.
In some parts of the country, landlords are waiting more than a year to get their properties back.
System at breaking point
The HCEOA, supported by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), Propertymark and Landlord Action, says that the situation is contributing to a growing sense of frustration among responsible landlords. They state many are now considering leaving the sector altogether.
Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the NRLA, said “Wait times within the court system have reached record levels, ensuring that landlords are unable to take back possession of rental properties in the event tenants display anti-social behaviour or enter extreme rent arrears.
“To address this issue the Government must implement the key recommendations set out in the report, namely by taking the necessary steps to allow cases to be ‘transferred up’ to the High Court.”
Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, added “One landlord who applied for a bailiff back in February is still waiting, left in limbo. He urgently needs possession of his only property so he can move in himself. Tenants are also trapped as for them, the only route to council rehousing is to wait until the bailiff arrives, which means months of mounting debt and long-term damage to their prospects.”
Blueprint for reform
To address what it calls “months of needless enforcement delays”, the HCEOA has written to the Government and the judiciary, urging immediate reform. Its two-part proposal calls for:
- Automatic approval for requests to transfer to the High Court when County Court delays exceed three months or where reasonable force may be required.
- Simplifying the ‘transfer up’ process, making it easier for landlords to apply and for the courts to process requests, aligning with planned digital reforms.
According to Mike Jackson, Vice-Chair of the HCEOA “These changes can be delivered today at no cost to Government, the judiciary, tenants or debtors. They would save landlords thousands of pounds, prevent them from exiting the rental market and stop them becoming debtors of the future.”
Case for change
The HCEOA argues that stronger access to High Court enforcement would not weaken tenant protections, since evictions can only proceed after a judge has ruled in favour of possession. High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEOs) operate under the same regulations as County Court Bailiffs, and their costs are covered by the claimant, not the tenant.
With the rental sector already under pressure from high demand and limited supply, the association warns that further inaction will only deepen the crisis.
Alan J Smith, HCEOA Chair, states “This is threatening to derail the rental sector and hamper economic growth whilst costing social housing providers and landlords tens of thousands of pounds.”
The message from across the industry is clear: without reform, eviction delays will continue to undermine confidence in the private rented sector – and drive more landlords out of the market altogether.