Almost 29,000 landlord possession claims were lodged across England and Wales over the last year.

LegalforLandlords analysed the latest government data on landlord possessions to identify where landlords have been most likely to pursue possession through the courts over the four quarters between Q2 2025 and Q1 2026.

While the rental market continues to be characterised by limited housing supply and intense competition for available homes, the analysis suggests that landlords continue to face significant challenges when tenancies break down.

Specifically there were 28,610 possession claims issued over the last four quarters.

London accounted for by far the highest number of landlord possession claims of any region, with 10,186 claims issued over the last year. 

This is almost three times the total seen across the South East (3,396), while the North West ranked third with 3,255 claims.

The West Midlands (2,402), East of England (2,235), East Midlands (1,842), Yorkshire and the Humber (1,768), South West (1,488) and North East (1,186) completed the regional rankings.

LegalforLandlords says the figures highlight an often-overlooked reality of today’s rental market.

While demand for rental homes remains exceptionally strong, landlords can still encounter circumstances that ultimately require possession proceedings, including prolonged rent arrears, tenancy breaches, antisocial behaviour or the need to recover possession following the end of a tenancy. 

Even in areas where rental properties are typically re-let quickly, the legal process of recovering possession can remain lengthy, costly and heavily regulated.

Sim Sekhon, Group CEO of LegalforLandlords, comments: “The narrative surrounding today’s rental market is often that landlords hold all the cards because demand is so strong. 

“These figures demonstrate that the reality is considerably more nuanced.

High demand doesn’t prevent tenancies from breaking down, nor does it remove the need for landlords to recover possession when serious issues such as rent arrears or tenancy breaches arise.”