EXCLUSIVE: Expert questions official claims that eviction courts backlog ‘improving’

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Claims by a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) minister that possession case delays are being addressed have been questioned by leading evictions specialist Landlord Action.

In response to a question from Conservative MP Theresa Villiers, MoJ Parliamentary Under Secretary of State James Cartlidge revealed that both his department and HM Courts and Tribunals Services had introduced efficiencies to address the delays.

This includes the increased use of Warrant of Control Support Centres to reduce the administrative tasks undertaken by bailiffs.

“This has, and will, free up bailiff resources to focus on other enforcement activity which includes the enforcement of possession orders,” Cartlidge said.

Cartlidge also claimed that the most recent MoJ eviction figures reveal ‘a consistent improvement in timeliness since the enforcement restrictions lifted [at the end of June last year], enabling bailiffs once again to undertake enforcement activity’.

Court speed

But addressing his latter point, Landlord Action’s Paul Sowerbutts (pictured) says his staff report that although some courts are speeding up, those in London ‘are not’.

“Stratford Housing centre says it still has a 14-week backlog and Milton Keynes court is so overwhelmed with work it is outsourcing to Oxford County Court,” he says.

“Bromley is also overwhelmed and using various other places like Bexley Magistrates Court to hold possession hearings. Central London County Court is also super slow.”

The comments echo those by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, who told a House of Lords enquiry yesterday that all of the jurisdictions were ‘under pressure’ and that ‘overall we have problems… due to ‘capacity issues’.  

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Rental affordabilty in England – Average salary of £30,264 equated to 32.1% of average rent

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Paragon’s Rental Affordability Index takes recently published Government data, and by overlaying gross annual earnings with the average amount spent on rent, reveals an average rental affordability ratio for local authority areas across England with the average salary of £30,264 equating to 32.1% of the average rent

The least affordable local authorities in which to rent a home were all found in London.

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Right to Manage (RTM) Formations Platform Looking For Beta Testers

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Do you lack control over your service charge or have difficulty getting your landlord to make urgent repairs? Are you thinking of RTM but keep on putting it off as the process seems laborious and overwhelming?

If so

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Eddie Hughes, Minister for the Private Rented Sector, to address national landlords conference

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The Minister for the Private Rented Sector, Eddie Hughes MP, will be the keynote speaker at the inaugural National Landlord Conference on Tuesday 15th November.

Hosted by the National Residential Landlords Association in partnership with Landlord Law, the conference will focus on the future of the private rented sector.

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