Landlords struggling to get their properties back through the heavily backlogged County Court system have been urged to consider enforcing their judgments through the High Court.

Delays of up to a year or more before an eviction takes place are commonplace in some parts of England and Wales, particularly London – and sometimes even when a Possession Order has been granted.

The High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA) is now working with the NRLA, Propertymark and Landlord Action to support landlords and inform them of their options. It advises that those who haven’t yet applied to the County Court for a Possession Order can apply for leave to ‘transfer up’ to use the High Court for enforcement at the same time by adding a ‘transfer up’ application.

Waiting

It says that in some parts of the country, this could save months compared to waiting for an eviction date from a County Court bailiff or having to make a separate application to transfer enforcement to the High Court at a later stage. For those landlords worst affected by the delays in the system, ‘transferring up’ to use High Court enforcement might be the best option even if they have already applied for a Possession Order.

However, it adds that this solution only applies to those landlords dealing with a situation where a court has judged that a tenant must leave the property, and the tenant has not done so.

Engage

The HCEOA and its partners hope to engage with government to encourage a change in the law and have published a landlords and property agents survey to highlight the challenges and produce data. HCEOA vice chair Michael Jackson says: “High Court enforcement isn’t a magic wand, and it won’t be the right choice for every landlord right now, but it can certainly help those facing the worst delays in evictions, which are unfairly costing landlords thousands of pounds.”

Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, (right) adds that some landlords are facing waiting times of 15 months just to get an eviction date. “Ultimately, we need a change in the law to make this situation fairer, but it’s important landlords know their options right now.”

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