The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has noticed new figures that show landlords are facing an increased wait when getting a judgement on repossession cases.
As such, the RLA has stated an urgent need for a dedicated housing court to be established.
The Ministry of Justice’s Mortgage and Landlord Possession Statistics for the third quarter of 2019 show that the average time between claims and repossessions for private landlords was 22.6 weeks. This is up from 22.5 weeks in the first quarter of the year.
The RLA highlights that this is now the third quarterly increase in a row.
This follows the recent warning from Osbornes Law that the proposed abolition of Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 will likely “risk increasing delays” to claims.
Responding to the release of these latest statistics, David Smith, Policy Director for the RLA, has commented: “The courts are failing both landlords and tenants. A systematic programme of court closures, coupled with cuts to the court budgets have made it harder for anyone in the private rented sector to get justice in a timely way where something goes wrong.
“With all parties wanting to develop longer tenancies in the rental market, this will only work if landlords can swiftly and easily repossess properties through the court in legitimate circumstances.
“A failure to achieve this will make such tenancies a pipe dream. We are calling on all parties in the election to pledge to establish a dedicated housing court that can bring rapid justice for landlords and tenants.”