Government promises to speed up court evictions process for landlords

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The government has vowed to speed up the evictions process for landlords by improving admin around bailiff enforcement activity and bringing in new technology.

During a debate on the courts system in the Commons, Justice Minister James Cartlidge, who resigned a few hours after his commons appearance, promised that by next year it would modernise how the courts deal with possession claims as part of the courts and tribunals service reform programme.

Conservative MP Andrew Lewer questioned whether reforms promised in the recent White Paper to speed up the court system would be in place before the change in private tenancies, given that it currently takes a private landlord nine months to repossess a property through the courts, with the end of section 21 repossessions expected to drive up cases.

The government was injecting more than £10 million a year into housing legal aid through reforms to the housing possession court duty scheme, said Cartlidge.

“We will further streamline the court process to ensure that landlords can get possession in the most urgent circumstances.

“Finally, we will continue to make administrative efficiencies to maximise bailiff resource for enforcement activity, including the enforcement of possession orders.”

Cartlidge added that more than 70% of all courtrooms, including more than 90% of Crown courtrooms, were already fitted with its video hearings platform and that it would be looking at what more it could do to increase throughput using technology.

Vulnerable tenants

Shadow Solicitor General Andrew Slaughter (pictured) asked why the government was extending fixed recoverable costs to housing cases that would prevent law centres and other providers from having the means to represent vulnerable tenants against bad landlords, including in disrepair and unlawful eviction cases.

Cartlidge said: “I am confident that we have put in a huge funding package across the justice system, with £477 million to support court recovery in the spending review.” 

The announcement comes four years after a consultation by the government on court processes speed.

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