Delays in the Civil Justice System - is it time for a specialist Housing Court?

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Awareness Week Series - Part 2

As part of ASB Awareness Week, our housing management team has curated a series of articles which give practical advice and insight into four core themes surrounding ASB, with a focus on making our communities safer. 

Part 2 focuses on: addressing delays in the civil justice system. Part 1 of the series, Tackling trouble together: supporting victims of anti-social behaviour was published on Monday 30 June. The remainder of the series will be published on Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 July 2025.

To round off the week we're also running a webinar on Friday 4 July at 10am where our specialist Housing Management solicitors will be discussing four key themes in helping to #MakeCommunitiesSafer. Please sign up if you'd like to join us. 

Delays in the Justice System

Anyone with any involvement in tenancy enforcement which results in Court proceedings of any kind being issued - whether it be an application for an ASB injunction or the issue of possession proceedings - is very aware of the significant delays that practitioners face in the County Court.

I have experienced cases recently where it has taken the Court 6 months to issue a Warrant of Possession and list an eviction date despite significant ASB still taking place and, in another case, the Court issuing Ground 7A possession proceedings based on the making of a Closure Order but then taking 5 months to list the first hearing date, all whilst serious ASB was being inflicted upon neighbours.

Such significant delays leave victims of ASB open to continued harassment, alarm and distress caused by the perpetrator sometimes having devastating consequences as has been highlighted in a number of high profile cases over recent years.

Those in tenancy enforcement have the sometimes unenviable task of informing the victims and witnesses to a case that Court delays mean that the relief they desperately need from the anti-social behaviour of their neighbour will not be obtained any time soon. This can, understandably, lead to witnesses withdrawing from the process and failing to engage with the landlord when they are seeking to take action. Such delays can leave the victim feeling that the landlord has failed to take appropriate action and complaints to the Housing Ombudsman can follow.

Where a direct witness to the ASB relied upon in legal proceedings withdraws their support for the claim issued, this can leave the landlord without any direct evidence of the behaviour observed and this can significantly undermine the prospects of being successful at Trial, even to the point where proceedings are dismissed by the Court and a costs Order made against the landlord.

Similar delays in the criminal Court system also pose difficulties for landlords too. One of the most powerful tools available to a landlord to tackle ASB is the absolute ground for possession in respect of secure tenancies or Ground 7A for assured tenancies. These grounds set out a number of “conditions” that can be satisfied by the landlord to prove the ground and obtain a Mandatory Possession Order. One of the conditions available to a landlord is where a tenant, or someone living or visiting the property in question, has been convicted of one of the serious offences set out in Schedule 2A Housing Act 1985.

A landlord can often be faced with a tenant or someone in the household being charged with a serious offence but then having to wait a significant period of time before a conviction is secured due to the time that the Trial takes to come to Court. The mandatory ASB grounds cannot be relied upon until a conviction is secured and very often ASB is continuing in the meantime. The landlord is then faced with the difficult decision of serving a Notice Seeking Possession based solely on discretionary grounds for possession or waiting until a conviction has been secured so as to be able to rely on the mandatory ground should a conviction be secured.

The delays faced leave vulnerable victims of ASB open to further abuse and an increased risk of harm. The delays also undermine our justice system as a whole. So, what are the potential solutions to these delays and what steps can landlords take to manage delay whilst we wait?

A specialist Housing Court

As long ago as 2017, the Government at the time explored the possibility of creating a specialist Housing Court and this proposal was backed by some members of the Judiciary.

The proposal at that time was to consolidate the work of the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) with the housing work carried out in the County Court into one centralised and specialist Court. The aim was to simplify the processes and procedures and make the Court more accessible for tenants, landlords and leaseholders.

The Government's proposals also indicated that improvements would be made to the digital services available to Court users with, for example, accelerated possession proceedings being made available online in a similar system to the PCOL, which many landlords are very familiar with. This was supposed to be delivered in 2019 - anyone still waiting?? I know I am! 

Ultimately, following a "Call for Evidence" and scrutiny in Parliament, the idea of a Housing Court was scrapped. This was on the basis that the cost of implementing such a Court would, in the Government's view at least, far outweigh the benefits. Is it time that this was reconsidered however?

Given the delays encountered in the Court's and also the complexity of the rules to be followed, there are calls once more for a specialist Housing Court to be reconsidered. What could the benefits be? Court users could find:

• A more user friendly and straightforward Court system
• Specialist Judiciary with an in-depth knowledge of housing and property law leading to more robust decisions being at an earlier stage of proceedings
• Delays being reduced due to a greater availability of listing time 
• More streamlined systems and further digital platforms being made available
• Further, more housing specific improvements to the Court system generally to facilitate the swift resolution of issues and disputes

Whilst in principal a specialist Housing Court may seem ideal, one of the major barriers to the creation of such a Court is, inevitably, funding.

The need for increased investment in the Court Service

There is a clear need for the Court Service as a whole to receive increased funding from Government. I have heard stories of administration teams within the Crown Court being reduced from teams of 6 to a team of 1 due to staffing shortages, stories from the County Court of the majority of staff members being agency staff as it is cheaper and quicker to get people into post and bailiffs in some geographical areas having to “double up” on patches effectively halving the number of bailiffs available to carry out evictions or execute warrants.

In March 2025 the Ministry of Justice announced record levels of funding being made available to the Crown Court system to enable more judicial sitting days to be made available to tackle the backlog of cases. The Government also announced a £28.5million increase to the budget for Court and building maintenance at the same time.

There was no indication that the County Court would receive a similar boost in funds despite the recent rise in Court fees, which are supposed to make the County Court self-funding.

With funding seemingly in short supply, and with the existing Court Service being the priority at present, it would appear that the funding for a Housing Court just simply isn't available.

What can be done to minimise delays? Practical tips

As frustrating as they are, unless significant funding is made available for the Court Service, the delays we are facing as Court Users are hear to stay. So, what, if anything, can be done to minimise waiting time on urgent ASB cases? Those involved in tenancy enforcement could consider the following:

• Appropriate use of the without notice issue of injunction applications ensuring the most serious cases are dealt with as a matter of urgency
• Using Injunctions in an attempt to curb behaviour whilst possession proceedings are being concluded
• Applications to abridge time for service in possession proceedings meaning an earlier hearing date is obtained
• The transfer of enforcement of Possession Orders up to the High Court to gain a swifter eviction date
• Joining the Court User Group for your local Courts to ensure you are able to give feedback at the appropriate level and that you are kept up to date with Court business
• Making formal complaints to the Court Service where appropriate and where service standards are not met

All of these issues will be discussed in more detail at our webinar on Friday 4 July so do sign up to hear more on how these steps could help you avoid Court delays.

If you would like to discuss #MakingCommunitiesSafer in further detail please contact our housing management team. Or you can sign up to our Social housing updates.