Courts recruiting 1,000 roles to cope with Renters’ Rights demand
A thousand new judges and tribunal members are being taken on this this year to cope with increased demand as a result of the Renters’ Rights Act.
Minister for the Courts and Legal Services Sarah Sackman KC confirmed the increased capacity in a letter to our CEO Ben Beadle, who had written to the minister with a series of key questions about how the courts service will cope with the changes.
In the letter the Minister said she understands our 'ongoing concern about the speed with which possession cases are processed to provide landlords and tenants with confidence in the justice system’ and said the new online process will allow possession claims to be dealt with 'swiftly and effectively, reducing the chance of mistakes being made’.
The minister told him the service has already redeployed staff and has and gone on the recruitment drive to ensure the courts are ready for the predicted increased in possession claims following the loss of section 21 – the so-called no-fault eviction.
What does the loss of section 21 mean for the courts?
The loss of the no-fault process means you must now use one of 37 revised grounds for possession. If your tenants then fail to leave the property in line with the notice period, or they challenge the grounds, the case will have to go through the courts.
We have had serious concerns about what this change will mean for some time, not least as waiting times were up to eight months, even before the new rules came in on 1st May.
In his letter, Ben asked for more detail on Government work to ensure the courts system will not be overwhelmed by the increase in demand and, with promises of a new digitised service, a timeline for change.
In her response Ms Sackman confirmed the Government is creating a new centralised hub, with two new digital services - for possession and for the Residential Property Chamber – currently under development.
Under its three-phase plan the Government has said full end-to-end digitisation of the courts – promising to slash waiting times – will be in place by April/May next year.
What will digitisation look like?
In response to detailed questions about how the new digital process will work, the minister said the new digital possession service will offer an online route for ‘making and responding to possession claims’, allowing you to file documents and receive updates and outcomes virtually.
This will replace the existing process, where the courts must process and issue claims via physical documents, increasing the risk of lost documents and delays. Ms Sackman said in her letter that the new service will reduce the chance of mistakes being made.
She said landlords and tenants who are representing themselves will still have the option to continue to engage with the court via paper statements, but all internal case management work will be delt with digitally.
Timeline for change – and what can we expect to see?
She said the first stage of the changes will be rolled out by the end of the year, confirming full digital rollout is still set to happen next year.
While she stressed the new service will keep the statutory periods to allow parties to obtain legal advice and assistance, she did not confirm any targets – in terms of end-to-end dates from application to repossession – when it comes to wait times.
Rent setting
The letter said that while the Government is ‘committed’ to setting up a non-judicial body to determine appropriate rents for given areas, in a bid to reduce pressure on the First Tier Tribunal, it is still working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and other partners to figure out how this will work in practice.
Our chief executive Ben Beadle said: “While we are pleased the Minister is taking our concerns seriously and bolstering capacity in the courts and tribunals service, the proof will be in the pudding.
“Increasing the number of judges and tribunal members is a good start, but what is important to us is that landlords have confidence they can take back possession of their properties in a straightforward and timely manner where they have legitimate reason to do so, something that will depend entirely on how the process works in practice.
“We also need to know what is happening when it comes to the new body charged with dealing with challenges to proposed rent increases.
“With increasing numbers of tenants expected to do this under the new rules, we need a clear plan in place from the Government to prevent the tribunal becoming overwhelmed.
“There also needs to be a clear mechanism by which it can monitor how well the courts are coping with the increased demand.
“We will continue to work closely with the courts and tribunals service to monitor the impact of the Act, specifically with regards to wait times, and will remain in close dialogue with ministers and senior civil servants as the digital services are developed.”
The Minister has confirmed the team will to continue working with us closely to ensure the points we’ve raised. are properly addressed so be sure to keep an eye on our news site and social media channel for all the latest developments.
More information
- For everything you need to know on how to use the revised section 8 grounds to repossess your property click here.
- For more on our warnings and campaigns work around the courts and the Renters’ Rights Act click here.
