Landlord possession claims rose by 6% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, although repossessions by county court bailiffs fell, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show.
There were 23,635 landlord possession claims between April and June, up from 22,352 during the same period last year. Orders remained broadly stable, while warrants fell 6% to 9,715 and repossessions dropped 3% to 6,560.
Accelerated possession claims recorded the largest increase, rising 16% compared with the second quarter of 2025. Private landlord claims were up 5%, while those brought by social landlords fell 3%.
Accelerated claims accounted for 36% of the total, at 8,569, with private and social landlords each responsible for 32%, at 7,617 and 7,449 respectively.
The figures cover the first two months following the Renters’ Rights Act coming into force on 1 May. The MoJ said it was not yet clear whether changes in possession activity could be attributed to the legislation and that trends would continue to be monitored.
London accounted for a third of all landlord possession claims, with 7,793 recorded during the quarter, 2% more than a year earlier. The capital also accounted for 31% of possession orders.
However, landlord warrants in London fell by 20% year-on-year to 2,993, contributing to the decline recorded nationally.
The median time between a landlord possession claim and repossession shortened slightly to 27.1 weeks, compared with 27.9 weeks a year earlier. Claims took a median 7.6 weeks to reach an order and 14.9 weeks to progress to a warrant.
Mortgage possession claims fell 20% year-on-year from 6,539 to 5,232, orders declined 17% to 3,651 and warrants were down 18% to 3,101. Mortgage repossessions by county court bailiffs also fell – by 14% to 1,008.
Despite the lower volumes, mortgage possession cases took longer to progress. The median time from claim to repossession increased from 42.9 weeks a year ago to 49.1 weeks, the longest since the fourth quarter of 2023.
