The latest possession statistics from the Ministry of Justice suggest that, for now, the anticipated rush of landlord claims ahead of the abolition of Section 21 evictions has yet to fully materialise through the courts.

While possession activity across both the mortgage and rental sectors fell during the first quarter compared with a year earlier, eviction specialists Landlord Action says it is still too early for the figures to reflect the full impact of landlords preparing for the end of so-called “no-fault” evictions under the Renters’ Rights Bill.

The firm believes many landlords are already reassessing their position in the market, with some accelerating possession proceedings or considering whether to retain or sell properties before the reforms come into force. Concerns also remain over court capacity and how quickly landlords will be able to regain possession once Section 21 is removed.

The data shows mortgage possession claims fell 23% year-on-year from 6,767 to 5,181 in Q1, while possession orders dropped 19% to 3,749 and warrants declined 4% to 3,420. Repossessions carried out by county court bailiffs remained broadly flat at 1,101.

Landlord possession claims also declined, falling 5% from 23,964 to 22,733. Possession orders dropped 10% to 16,848, warrants were down 7% to 10,172 and repossessions by county court bailiffs decreased 6% to 6,888.

Mortgage possession claims recorded declines across every region, while landlord claims fell everywhere except Wales, where they increased.

Court delays, however, continue to worsen. The median time from mortgage possession claim to repossession rose from 40.5 weeks to 45.7 weeks, while the average time from claim to warrant increased from 30.3 weeks to 35.6 weeks.

For landlords, the average time from claim to repossession edged up to 26.4 weeks, up slightly from the same period last year.

Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, said: “While the Q1 Ministry of Justice figures released do not currently show a dramatic spike in landlord possession claims overall, the data does suggest that pressure within the private rented sector remained elevated ahead of the Renters’ Rights changes. However, we believe it is still too early for the figures to fully reflect the level of activity that took place before the abolition of Section 21.”

He continued: “In practice, there is often a considerable lag between landlords serving notice, seeking legal advice and cases formally progressing to court claim stage, meaning much of the activity seen across the sector in the lead-up to the legislative changes may not yet be captured within these figures.

“At Landlord Action, we experienced one of the busiest periods in our history ahead of the reforms, with a significant increase in landlord enquiries and instructions as many sought to act before the rules changed. However, a large proportion of those cases would still have been progressing through the early stages of the possession process during Q1.

“For that reason, we expect the Q2 and Q3 figures to provide a much clearer indication of the true level of possession activity following the legislative changes and the extent of the pressure moving through the court system.”