It takes an average of 17 weeks for a landlords in England and Wales to evict problem tenants, according to an analysis of Government figures.
From the time that a court application for eviction is put in it is an average of 118 days before the actual eviction is done by court appointed bailiffs, the study from Simple Landlords Insurance has found.
Ministry of Justice figures show that it took an average of 6.9 weeks for a private landlord’s claim to result in the issue of an order requiring a tenant to leave the property. For those whose tenants stayed past the date given on the notice, it took an additional 3.2 weeks from the initial order to the granting of a possession warrant, and a further 6.8 weeks for a bailiff to take possession of the home if the claim went to the final stage making the total 16.9 weeks.
The research also shows that landlords in London are the most likely to have to evict, while those in the South West, the North East and the West Midlands were least likely to have to go all the way to court to secure their evictions.
A total of 21,429 possession claims were brought to court last year, of which 6,260 ended in eviction by bailiff. It is the first time that the length of time it takes for private landlords to evict through the court system has been made public and it’s been broken down by region and population density so landlords and tenants can find out exactly what level of risk they face in each area of England and Wales.
Tom Cooper, director of underwriting at Simple Landlords Insurance, pointed out that eviction is still rare, affecting just 0.5% of landlords and only a third of those had to go through to the point of a bailiff being appointed.
But he also pointed out that having to take this kind of action can be costly with legal fees, for example, averaging £1,700 to £2,000. On top of this is loss of income from rent, the inconvenience involved and the time it takes to get a resolution.
‘Just looking at lost rent, there are few landlords who can afford to lose up to six months’ worth, the time it takes for a tenant to go into arrears, for them to issue a Section 21 notice, and then for them wait 17 weeks to see the court process through,’ he added.
The research also shows that overall some 27% of claims didn’t receive a court order with many claims rejected for failing to follow the correct eviction proceedings. The average insurance payment made for eviction support is £4,341.22, which includes legal expenses and lost rent.
Cooper also pointed out that landlords can mitigate the risk of lost income, time and property damage if they have to bring possession proceedings to court with legal expenses insurance and rent guarantee insurance.
Legal expenses insurance helps landlords navigate the evictions process, including serving an eviction notice correctly, and legal support in court. Rent guarantee insurance compensates landlords for the income they lose over the many months an eviction process can take, as well as the legal fees for pursuing an eviction through the court system.
‘We know that rent arrears are high up on the list of landlord worries. Possession claims by private landlords have risen by 3.5% in the last two years. Over the same period we’ve seen a 61% increase in take-up of rent guarantee insurance in addition to legal expenses cover as landlords feeling the pinch from tax and regulatory changes try to mitigate the risk of repossession,’ Cooper added.
