A trade body is once again hammering on the government’s door to gain ownership of and resolve the mounting backlog of possession cases bottlenecking the courts, as many landlords are having to wait for up to six months before they can legally regain their properties.

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The government has given countless promises to update the courts process once Section 21 repossessions are ‘outlawed’, but as there is no sign of any major plans in how it will be achieved, the trade body is extremely concerned by the government’s apparent apathy.

And these concerns are also held by the Levelling Up, Housing & Communities’ (LUHC) own Select Committee, which sent out the warning: “It is not clear whether the government fully appreciates the extent to which an unreformed courts system could undermine its tenancy reforms.”

The trade body is calling for guarantees from ministers of when Second Reading of the Bill will be debated in parliamaent, it has also asked for answers of how the digitisation of the court process will be implemented and of details of the government’s plans to increase numbers of staff dealing solely with possession cases.

Its last specific question calls for the department to publish its test on how the Bill could impact the courts’ system.

Landlords want to know what government promises or commitments will be made on a speedier process for possession cases in the courts, once a new system is introduced, and how improvements (if and when) will be measured.

“Before the second reading of the Renters (Reform) Bill, the government must take positive steps towards resolving the courts logjam so that legitimate cases can be heard as swiftly as possible.

“Failing to do so will only jeopardise the implementation of the rental reforms and may well exacerbate an already serious crisis of supply of rented housing.”