Landlords will have to fork out £3,000 in court fees and legal costs to evict problem tenants when the Renters’ Rights Act takes effect - on top of potentially huge bills in unpaid rent.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service charges £404 to take a tenant to court while bailiffs charge £148, Greg Tsuman, of estate agency Martyn Gerrard, explains. Solicitors typically charge for serving a Section 8 notice, which can cost around £350, and fees are then charged on an hourly basis.

“A solicitor outside London may charge around £350 per hour, whereas an expensive practitioner could charge more than double this,” Tsuman tells The Telegraph. “It would be reasonable to expect total costs in the region of £3,000 on average when lawyers are involved. This does not take into account any loss of rent while awaiting a court date and eviction.”

Law firm Percy Hughes & Roberts adds that legal costs could exceed £3,000 if a case goes to the High Court to achieve a quicker eviction.

Shamplina

Landlord Action founder Paul Shamplina (pictured) says the complexity of Section 8 claims and the length of delays within the court system means that, in the worst cases, landlords could also face close to a year of unpaid rent.

Shamplina explains that Section 8 claims are more complicated than under Section 21, with greater scope for adjournments or cases being dismissed if paperwork is not completed precisely.

He adds: “Evicting a tenant is no longer a simple administrative process. The detail matters. Landlords will increasingly need specialist, regulated legal representation to navigate what is becoming a far more demanding court environment.”

Claim

The latest Ministry of Justice figures show the median time from claim to repossession rose to 27 weeks in 2025, up from 25 weeks the previous year. Excluding the pandemic backlog, that is the longest median wait in more than two decades.

Separate research published by the High Court Enforcement Officers Association in October found that the average rent loss per property at the point of eviction stands at £12,708 nationally, rising to £19,223 in London.

An NRLA spokesman says an average of more than six months for Section 8 possession cases to be processed and enforced by the courts is far too long for landlords who are dealing with significant rent arrears or potentially anti-social tenants. “In order for Section 8 to work, it is vital that the courts are ready for reform so that landlord trust is restored in the sector.”

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