Private Rented Housing: Evictions
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many possession claims relating to Section 21 notices are currently awaiting court hearing; and what the average waiting time is for those hearings.
Answered by Sarah Sackman
A Section 21 notice provides for an accelerated court process, usually without a hearing. However, if the application is not in order or the tenant challenges the claim a hearing may be scheduled.
The Civil Procedure Rules stipulate that possession claims should be listed within 4 to 8 weeks of a claim being issued. The most recent published statistics, covering the period July to September 2025 show that the median time from claim to order is 7.6 weeks.
The Government has set out its roadmap for implementing the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Private landlords will not be able to serve new Section 21 notices on their tenants on or after 1 May 2026.
The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly data on possession claims at: Mortgage and landlord possession statistics: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.
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