News from 24 March 2026
Read the current guide to tenancy rules in England.
Ministry of Justice figures for October–December 2025 showed fewer new landlord possession claims but a longer median time from claim to repossession. The median was 27 weeks, compared with 25 weeks a year earlier.
What the latest figures show
According to the Ministry of Justice, landlord possession claims fell from 24,004 in the final quarter of 2024 to 21,458 in the final quarter of 2025, an 11% drop. Orders fell 8% to 16,913 and warrants fell 12% to 9,606. At the same time, county court bailiff repossessions rose 3% to 7,254.
The publication also says the median time from claim to repossession increased from 25.0 weeks to 27.0 weeks over the same period. Claim-to-warrant timeliness also ticked up, while the time from claim to order was a little shorter. The overall picture is that the route from starting a claim to actually recovering possession remained lengthy.
One useful detail in the official commentary is that the Ministry of Justice does not yet say with confidence why claims fell. It notes that it is still unclear whether the dip reflects normal seasonal variation or changing behaviour ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act coming into force on 1 May 2026. That is worth remembering before anyone tries to turn one quarter of data into a simple market narrative.
