Average eviction now takes 17 weeks according to new analysis

A new analysis reveals that it takes an average of 118 days for court-appointed bailiffs to remove tenants from private homes after bringing a claim to court. 

This is based on a study of government figures for the first quarter of this year - the latest data available - by the Simple Landlords Insurance company.

It says its regional breakdown of data reveals that agents and landlords in London are the most likely to have to evict, while those in the south west, north east and West Midlands were least likely to do so. 

It’s 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. 

“In 2017 only 0.5 per cent of landlords made a possession claim in court and only a third of those had to go through to the bitter bailiff end. The bad news is that if it does happen to you, it can cost a lot of money – and not just the average £1,700- £2,000 in legal fees” cautions Tom Cooper, director of underwriting at Simple Landlords Insurance.

“Just looking at lost rent, there are few landlords who can afford to lose up to 6 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.”

Key data analysed by the firm reveals that:

- During 2017, private landlords brought 21,439 possession claims to courts in England and Wales;

- 27 per cent of claims didn’t receive a court order. Many claims are 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;

- Landlords in London are more likely to have to evict a tenant, the figures show. Buy-to-let investors in the capital brought 195.3 claims per 100,000 households last year;

- It took longer for social housing providers to evict tenants, with an average claim-to-repossession time of 27.9 weeks vs 16.9 for private landlords.