According to the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), new data shows that landlords are waiting around 33.8 weeks (almost 8 months) to regain possession of a property through courts.
This figure comes from a Ministry of Justice report on data from the second quarter of 2025 and shows the wait to be up from 32.5 weeks in the first part of the year, marking the longest average waiting time since early 2022.
The MoJ tracks the time from when a landlord submits a claim to when they take back possession of their property. This increase from previous periods highlights the ongoing court backlogs and the NRLA warns about how the Renters’ Rights Bill could further impact this. In a recent article, they said:
“We have serious concerns over the data, not least as demand on the courts service has fallen in the same period, with the total number of claims (from the private and social sector landlords) down by 9%.
“With section 21, the so-called ‘no fault’ eviction to be abolished under the Renters’ Rights Bill – set to receive Royal Assent this autumn – there are serious questions to be answered over the courts’ ability to cope with the expected mammoth increase in demand. This is despite commitments from the Housing Minister that the court system is ready for the changes in the Bill.”
Breakdown of the Wait Time
The total time that landlords have to wait is of approximately eight months, this is then broken down into several stages:
- Claim to Possession Order (just over 7.9 weeks to get a possession order from the courts.)
- Claim to Warrant for Possession (around 14.1 weeks and involves getting a warrant if tenants do not comply with the initial order.)
- Claim to Repossession (the final step to actual repossession, which now averages between 27.9 to 33.8 weeks.)
Why the wait times are so long
While court backlogs are the main reason for the increasing wait times, other factors also impact the wait times. Such as tenant conduct, which delays the process further by allowing an extra week to get a warrant for possession when tenants don’t comply with initial proceedings.
The impact for landlords
A prolonged wait means landlords often go without rent payments, worsening financial difficulties as increased costs occur.
The delays also mean landlords are waiting longer to repossess properties for other reasons, such as dealing with unpaid rent or anti-social behaviour.
