The government must invest more to boost capacity in civil courts and tribunals to help landlords, tenants and agents seeking an end to property disputes.
That’s the call from lettings tech firm Reapit.
It welcomes last week’s news that capacity in criminal courts will be expanded to cope with their growing backlog, but Reapit wants the same for civil courts.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced a record allocation of 110,000 Crown Court sitting days for the next financial year, as well as a £28.5m increase in court maintenance funding, and expanded capacity for the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal. Yet, no equivalent commitment has been made to civil courts and property tribunals – despite the additional strain they are expected to face due to the Renters’ Rights Bill.
The Bill, in providing for the abolition of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, will force landlords to use Section 8 notices to regain possession of their properties, which will require a court ruling unless the tenant leaves voluntarily.
The legislation also proposes scrapping fixed-term tenancies and requiring all rent increases to be served via a Section 13 notice – measures which are also likely to increase demand for court and tribunal time.
Reapit’s recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that the government does not track how many rent increase cases tribunals currently handle and their outcome. The impact of similar tenancy reforms in Scotland suggests that England’s tribunal system could face up to 1.3m market rent cases annually if all tenants subject to rent increases choose to challenge them.
The government’s own impact assessment also acknowledges longstanding issues with civil court delays, particularly for landlords seeking possession orders.
Despite this, the government has yet to release the Justice Impact Test or New Burdens Assessment for the Renters’ Rights Bill, leaving key questions unanswered about how it intends to resource the courts and tribunals ahead of the Bill becoming law later this year.
Neil Cobbold, commercial director at Reapit, says: “It’s encouraging to see investment in criminal courts, but the civil courts and tribunals need more capacity too. Landlords, tenants, and agents need access to swift, fair resolutions – especially with the increased demand we expect from the Renters’ Rights Bill. Without increased funding and capacity, we risk long delays, uncertainty, and a backlog that will impact tenants, landlords and agents.
“Additionally, the government has yet to publish a Justice Impact Test or New Burdens Assessment for the Renters’ Rights Bill – two crucial reports that outline how much additional strain the courts will face and the funding required to manage it. Without these assessments, the extra costs may be left out of the government’s upcoming Spending Review, potentially delaying essential resourcing for councils and tribunals.”
