Landlord possession claims increased in England and Wales in April to June 2026, while repossessions by county court bailiffs fell compared with the same quarter a year earlier. The Ministry of Justice release illustrates why a single eviction headline can miss important differences between stages of the court process.
The official bulletin, published in August and checked on 8 November 2026, records 23,635 landlord possession claims, up 6% year on year. Bailiff repossessions numbered 6,560, down 3%. Mortgage possession claims were 5,232, down 20%, while mortgage repossessions by county court bailiffs were 1,008, down 14%.
Keep the measures separate
A claim and a repossession are different events. A quarterly count at one stage should not be treated as a prediction of how many of those particular claims will reach another stage. Dividing one headline total by the other would not, on its own, give an individual landlord’s chance of success.
Keep the mortgage and landlord categories separate too. They concern different types of possession action, so a change in one should not be presented as a change in every form of repossession.
Timing figures need context
The bulletin gives median claim-to-repossession times of 27.1 weeks for landlord cases and 49.1 weeks for mortgage cases. These describe the measured cases, rather than an appointment date for a new application. The latest quarter’s statistics are provisional and can be revised.
The release also cautions against attributing changes to the Renters’ Rights Act from this quarter alone. It covers only two months after the May implementation date.
Using the release in property research
Write down the quarter, geography, action type and comparison period before using a number in a report or business plan. Check whether the figure is a count, a rate or a measure of time. Keep the original table or bulletin link alongside it so that the basis remains clear.
For a live tenancy or mortgage problem, use the applicable process and obtain advice about the actual circumstances. An aggregate court statistic cannot determine the correct legal route, outcome or timetable for an individual case.
Source: Ministry of Justice, Mortgage and landlord possession statistics, April to June 2026, updated 19 August 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-april-to-june-2026/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-april-to-june-2026