Landlord possession activity is rising as the private rented sector adjusts to the Renters’ Rights Act, with lawyers reporting an increase in eviction disputes.
Government figures show accelerated landlord possession claims rose 16% year-on-year between April and June 2026. These claims include cases involving Section 21 notices.
South East law firm Thackray Williams says it has also recorded a sharp increase in instructions from landlords seeking vacant possession.
Meanwhile, the firm has received instructions from tenants challenging eviction notices.
The increase comes after the Renters’ Rights Act took effect on 1 May and abolished Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.
Thackray Williams said it saw a rush of instructions before the change. Some landlords planning to sell sought to serve Section 21 notices before their abolition.
Landlords look to exit
Separate research suggests some landlords continue to reduce their exposure to the private rented sector.
A Savills survey conducted in June found 11% of landlords had sold one or more properties.
Mustafa Sidki, contentious construction litigation partner at Thackray Williams, said: “Unfortunately, the number of landlords looking to sell their investments is exacerbating the lack of affordable rental housing, prompting tenants to challenge eviction notices because they can’t find anywhere else to live.
“The pressures on both sides in the private rental sector are creating a perfect storm, which is leading to lengthy and costly litigation – and further pressure on a court system that is already struggling.
“Unless the economics of the private rented sector improve and more affordable rental homes become available, renters will struggle to find homes, landlords are going to face increasing costs as their tenants resist eviction and the courts will have to contend with a growing backlog.”
“Every one of these has been resisted by the tenants, who have refused to vacate, necessitating accelerated possession proceedings,” explains Sidki. “In turn, every accelerated possession claim has been challenged by the tenants – and in each case they are asking the courts to give them more time to find alternative accommodation.
“These challenges require full court hearings, increasing the costs that landlords are facing and the amount of time before they will be able to secure vacant possession of their properties, at the same time leaving renters in limbo.”
Additionally, Thackray Williams is now seeing an increase in enquires from tenants facing eviction as well as instructions from landlords to serve eviction notices under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 and possession proceedings generally, as landlords continue to seek to exit the market.
“The route to acquiring possession has changed with the implementation of the RRA, but the increasingly difficult economics of being a landlord haven’t,” comments Sidki, “so we’re continuing to see increased activity as landlords look to divest because their property investments are no longer commercially viable.
“As well as the reduced flexibility and increased administrative burden imposed by the RRA, they’re facing an impending 2% increase in tax on income from property, having already lost the ability to deduct full mortgage interest from rental income (under Section 24 of the Finance Act).
“Additional pressures include a new requirement for quarterly financial reporting under Making Tax Digital, alongside increased costs for maintenance, service charges, insurance premiums and local authority licensing fees.
“Many landlords are also facing new re-finance rates of 5-6% as their fixed-rate buy-to-let mortgages of 1-2% come to an end this year, and there’s uncertainty as to what the requirements to upgrade their properties to EPC C by 2030 under the Decent Homes Standard 2026 will mean in practice.”
30% of the landlords surveyed by Savills said they were considerably more likely to consider disposing of their rental properties in the next 24 months (rising to 54% of mortgaged landlords), with 62% of respondents reporting they have become significantly less likely to buy another property.
“This is not simply a landlord issue or a tenant issue — it is a system-wide pressure point,” cautions Sidki. “Possession disputes are now exposing the strain across the whole rental market, from landlords reassessing whether they can afford to stay invested, to renters struggling to find homes, and courts being asked to absorb the fallout.”
Comments (1)
Will be interesting to see how the government will spin or U-turn this, maybe by rent controls which will exasperate their problem.