What Shergroup’s Latest Data Tells Us About Getting Landlords Their Properties Back — And Why the Renters’ Rights Act Makes It More Important Than Ever
Shergroup • April 2026 • Based on analysis of 603 completed and active cases, 2021–2026
Every day a tenant overstays after a possession order is another day of lost rent. For landlords across England and Wales, that costs an average of £46 per day. In London, it is £76. Over weeks and months, those numbers have become thousands of pounds.
Three months ago, we published our analysis of 500+ possession order transfer cases and identified two critical factors that determine how quickly landlords get their properties back. Now, with our tracker updated to 603 cases spanning 2021 to 2026, the picture is even clearer — and the performance improvements we have achieved are worth sharing.
But this update comes at a pivotal moment. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. Phase One comes into force on 1 May 2026 — just weeks away. Section 21 “no-fault” evictions will be abolished. Every landlord who needs to regain possession of their property after that date will have to make out a ground under Section 8.
We will explain what that means, why all is not lost, and how Shergroup’s services are positioned to help landlords navigate this new landscape with confidence.
The Numbers: Where We Stand in April 2026
Our tracker now covers 603 cases processed across 95+ courts and 201 clients — representing a significant expansion from the 500 cases and 185 clients we reported in January. Here is the headline picture:
| 603 total cases • 520 writs issued • 97.9% eviction completion rate • 201 clients • 95+ courts |
| Metric | January 2026 | April 2026 |
| Total cases tracked | 500+ | 603 |
| Completed writs issued | ~480 | 520 |
| Unique clients | 185+ | 201 |
| Courts covered | 85+ | 95+ |
| Eviction completion rate | Not published | 97.9% |
| 2025/26 median instruction-to-writ | 11 days | 11 days |
The 97.9% eviction completion rate — meaning that of the 520 cases where we issued a writ, 509 have a recorded eviction date — is a number we are particularly proud of. It speaks to what happens when enforcement is handled professionally from start to finish.
Case Volume: 2024 Was a Record Year
Looking at how cases have grown year on year tells its own story about the landlord market:
| Year | New Cases | Notes |
| 2021 | 93 | Post-pandemic possession proceedings begin |
| 2022 | 103 | Steady growth |
| 2023 | 97 | Slight dip |
| 2024 | 166 | Record year — 71% increase on 2023 |
| 2025 | 116 | Strong year |
| 2026 (to date) | 10 | Early data — Q1 only |
2024’s 166 cases — a 71% jump on the previous year — reflects the surge in landlords pursuing possession proceedings once pandemic-era protections fully ended. 2025 remained exceptionally strong at 116 cases, and 2026 is already building a solid pipeline. With the Renters’ Rights Act changes imminent, we expect a further wave of landlords seeking to get possession proceedings underway in the coming months.
The Section 42(2) Advantage: The Data Still Holds
When we first published this analysis in January, some questioned whether the Section 42(2) difference was as significant as we claimed. The updated data, now across 396 landlord-tenant cases with a completed writ, confirms it:
| Scenario | Median Days (PO to Writ) | Cases |
| WITH Section 42(2) permission | 69 days | 381 |
| WITHOUT Section 42(2) permission | 91 days | 15 |
| Time saved | ~22 days | — |
That is a 22-day saving — translating to approximately £1,012 in avoided lost rent for a typical UK landlord, or £1,672 in London, simply by ensuring Section 42(2) permission is included in the original possession order.
At Shergroup, our advocates make this application in person at the hearing — not by post, not by form — and the results speak for themselves.
Why the Application Must Be Made at the Possession Hearing Itself
This is the detail that matters most — and the detail that many landlords and their advisors miss.
To achieve the shortest possible transfer window, the application for permission to enforce in the High Court under Section 42(2) must be made at the possession hearing itself — not left for a separate application afterwards. A separate application means a separate court listing, and another wait for a hearing date. That adds weeks to the timeline before enforcement can even begin.
What you need to come out of that hearing is a possession order made by the District Judge which explicitly includes permission to transfer the case to the High Court for enforcement. That single document — a possession order with Section 42(2) permission on its face — is what unlocks the faster enforcement route.
Once that order is in hand, the sequence is straightforward:
- The order is lodged at the High Court. We file the sealed possession order at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, or the relevant District Registry, together with the Writ of Possession.
- The Writ is sealed. Once sealed by the High Court office, the Writ of Possession carries full legal authority. This is the document that empowers our High Court Enforcement Officers to attend the property and execute the eviction.
- We manage the process through eviction. From the moment the sealed Writ is back in our hands, we take ownership of the remaining steps — serving the Notice of Eviction on the tenant, scheduling the eviction date, and executing the Writ on the day. The landlord has certainty about when their property will be returned.
| S42(2) at Hearing → Sealed PO + Writ Filed at High Court → Writ Returned Sealed → Notice of Eviction Served → Eviction Executed |
Our advocates argue the Section 42(2) application directly before the District Judge at the possession hearing. Not by post. Not via a form submitted separately. In person, on the day, at the hearing. Our 603-case dataset — spanning courts from Clerkenwell & Shoreditch to Birmingham to Manchester — is proof that this approach works when it is properly argued.
The contrast is stark: landlords with Section 42(2) in their original order reach eviction in a median of 69 days (about 2 and a half months) from the possession order. Those who must apply separately wait a median of 91 days (about 3 months) — and that is before enforcement has even started.
Our Processing Speed: Continuing to Improve
| Period | Median Instruction to Writ | Mean | Cases |
| 2022 | 17 days | 24 days | 84 |
| 2023 | 19 days | 28 days | 84 |
| 2024 | 15 days | 24 days | 140 |
| 2025 | 12 days | 19 days | 104 |
| 2026 (early) | 7 days | 8 days | 6 |
The 2026 figure of 7 days is based on early data only, so we are not yet citing it as a headline performance metric. But the direction of travel is unmistakable. For context, the national average for County Court bailiff evictions is measured in months. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, court backlogs are expected to worsen significantly as all possession claims now require a full hearing. The case for using the High Court route has never been stronger.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025: What Landlords Need to Know Right Now
| ⚠️ Critical Date: 1 May 2026 The Renters’ Rights Act comes into force on 1 May 2026. From this date, Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions are abolished. All possession proceedings must use Section 8 grounds. Any Section 21 notice not followed by a court claim by 31 July 2026 becomes invalid. |
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has been the most significant reform to the private rented sector since the Housing Act 1988. It received a Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For landlords, the headline change is stark: after 1 May 2026, you cannot simply serve a notice and require a tenant to leave without specifying a reason. Every possession claim must now be grounded in one of the revised Section 8 grounds for possession.
What’s Changing
From 1 May 2026:
- Section 21 is abolished. No new ‘no-fault’ notices can be served after 30 April 2026. All existing Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) automatically convert to assured periodic tenancies on this date.
- All tenancies become periodic. Fixed-term tenancies disappear. All tenancies will roll monthly by default, with no fixed end date.
- Section 8 is now the only route. Landlords must make out one of the revised grounds for possession to obtain a possession order.
- Court backlogs are expected to worsen. The abolition of the accelerated possession procedure (which applied to Section 21 claims) means every possession claim now requires a full court hearing. The average wait between issuing a claim and regaining possession was already 33.8 weeks (about 8 months) in Q2 2025. Expect this to increase.
There are transitional provisions for Section 21 notices already served. If you served a valid Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, you must issue your court claim by the earlier of: six months from the date you served the notice, or 31 July 2026. If you miss this deadline, the notice becomes invalid permanently and you will have to start again under Section 8.
The New Section 8 Landscape
Section 8 is not new — but the rules have changed significantly, and the grounds have expanded. There are now 30 grounds for possession (up from 17), split between mandatory grounds (where the court must grant possession if proven) and discretionary grounds (where the court decides whether it is reasonable to grant possession). Key changes include:
| Ground | Type | What’s Changed |
| Ground 8 – Rent Arrears | Mandatory | Threshold raised from 2 months to 3 months arrears. Must exist at both notice services AND hearing date. Universal Credit payment delays excluded from calculation. Notice period extended from 2 to 4 weeks. |
| Ground 8A – Repeated Arrears | Mandatory (New) | Covers tenants who clear arrears before the hearing but have had 3+ occasions of 2+ months arrears in the past 3 years — closing a common avoidance tactic. |
| Ground 1 – Landlord Moving In | Mandatory | Expanded to cover close family members. Cannot be used in the first 12 months of tenancy. Requires 4 months’ notice. 12-month re-letting restriction applies after eviction. |
| Ground 1A – Landlord Selling | Mandatory (New) | Landlord intends to sell the property. Cannot be used in the first 12 months. Requires 4 months’ notice. |
| Ground 6B – Compliance | Mandatory (New) | Landlord needs possession to comply with enforcement action (e.g., HMO licensing, prohibition orders). |
| Grounds 10 & 11 – Smaller Arrears / Persistent Late Payment | Discretionary | Remain available where arrears are below the Ground 8 threshold, or where the tenant is persistently late. |
| Grounds 12, 13, 14 – Breach, Deterioration, ASB | Discretionary | Retained. Anti-social behaviour grounds remain available with reduced notice periods for serious cases. |
What This Means in Practice
The shift from Section 21 to Section 8 is not just procedural — it represents a fundamental change in the burden placed on landlords. Under Section 21, you needed to follow a process correctly. Under Section 8, you need to prove a case.
This has several practical implications:
- Evidence matters more. For Ground 8 (rent arrears), you must demonstrate the correct level of arrears at both the time of serving notice and at the time of the hearing. If a tenant pays down their arrears below the three-month threshold before the hearing, a mandatory order cannot be granted under Ground 8.
- Notices must be technically correct. Errors in a Section 8 notice — wrong form, wrong ground, wrong notice period — can invalidate the claim and require the process to restart, adding months to the timeline.
- Multiple grounds should be pleaded where possible. Experienced solicitors will plead discretionary grounds (such as Grounds 10 and 11) alongside Ground 8, giving the court scope to grant possession even if the mandatory threshold drops below three months before the hearing.
- Court delays will increase. Every claim now needs a hearing. County Court waiting times, already severe, are expected to worsen as the volume of contested Section 8 claims rises.
All Is Not Lost — And Here’s Why
| ✅ Shergroup’s Position: Well-Placed for the New Landscape Shergroup Legal has always handled both Section 21 and Section 8 proceedings as part of our End-to-End service. The removal of Section 21 does not reduce the value of our service — it increases it. Landlords who previously managed S21 notices themselves will now need specialist legal support to navigate the more demanding S8 process. |
The Renters’ Rights Act does not mean landlords lose the right to regain their properties. It means the process has more steps, requires stronger evidence, and demands greater legal precision. This is exactly where Shergroup’s combined legal and enforcement expertise becomes most valuable.
Here’s how we see the new landscape playing out — and how Shergroup’s services are positioned within it:
1. The Section 8 Notice Must Be Right First Time
Under the old system, a flawed Section 21 notice could sometimes be remedied by serving a fresh one. Under Section 8, a defective notice can mean months of additional delay and costs. Getting the notice right — correct form, correct ground, correct evidence, correct notice period — is no longer a nicety. It is essential.
Shergroup Legal will serve the Section 8 notice as the first step in our End-to-End process, ensuring the correct grounds are identified, the notice is properly prepared, and the evidence base is solid before a single document is served.
2. Section 42(2) Becomes Even More Critical
If anything, the abolition of Section 21 makes the work we do at the possession hearing even more important. With court timelines expected to lengthen after 1 May 2026, getting Section 42(2) permission included in the possession order — to enable immediate transfer to the High Court — is now the most powerful tool available to landlords for managing the enforcement timeline.
Our 603-case dataset shows this saves a median of 22 days and over £1,000 in lost rent. In a post-Section 21 world, where every additional month of delay costs the landlord more, that saving matters more than ever.
3. High Court Enforcement Matters More, Not Less
The County Court enforcement pathway has always been slow. With increased volumes of Section 8 claims flooding the system from May 2026, County Court bailiff waiting times are expected to worsen further. The High Court route, via our Writ of Possession process, bypasses this bottleneck.
Our median instruction-to-writ time of 12 days in 2025 — compared to average County Court enforcement waits measured in months — tells its own story.
4. Documentation and Evidence Management
Many landlords who previously relied on Section 21 will find themselves in unfamiliar territory with Section 8. Rent account records, correspondence logs, maintenance histories, tenancy agreement documents — all of these become the foundation of a successful possession claim.
Our Business Solution Consultants are on hand at no charge to help landlords understand which Section 8 ground applies to their situation, what evidence they need to gather, and how to prepare for the process ahead. Call us on 0203 588 4240 or email [email protected] to speak with one of the team.
5. The Timeline Arithmetic Has Changed
Under Section 8, landlords need to plan further ahead. Consider the arithmetic for a Ground 8 rent arrears claim:
- Tenant must be 3 months in arrears before notice can be served
- 4 weeks’ notice must be given before issuing proceedings
- County Court possession hearing: average 6–8 months from issue (and likely to increase)
- County Court bailiff eviction: further months after order
Total realistic timeline from the point arrears reach 3 months: 9–15+ months.
With High Court enforcement via Shergroup, once the possession order is granted, our median processing time is 12 days (about 1 week 10 days) to writ, and eviction typically follows within weeks. The end of the process can be dramatically accelerated — even if the beginning is now slower.
A Shout-Out to the Judges Who Are Getting It Right
This is a section we’ve wanted to write for some time.
For High Court transfers to work efficiently, landlords need Section 42(2) permission included in the possession order. That requires a District Judge who understands the legislation and is willing to consider the application at the possession hearing itself. In a post-Section 21 world, where possession hearings will be more frequent and more contested, the efficiency of these judges becomes even more important to the system.
Our 603-case dataset includes 300 cases where Section 42(2) permission was granted on the same day as the possession order. Based on our data, the following District Judges stand out for the frequency with which they have granted Section 42(2) permission:
Overall, Leaders: Most S42(2) Permissions Granted
| District Judge | S42(2) Permissions Granted | Primary Court |
| DJ Bell | 23 | Clerkenwell & Shoreditch |
| DJ Jeffs | 18 | Clerkenwell & Shoreditch / Stratford |
| DJ Althaus | 11 | Brentford |
| DJ Anderson | 11 | Clerkenwell & Shoreditch |
| DJ Sachdev | 11 | Willesden |
| DJ Dias | 10 | Various |
| DJ Clarke | 9 | Various |
| DJ Griffiths | 9 | Willesden |
| DJ Leong | 8 | Croydon / Wandsworth |
| DJ Swan | 7 | Various |
Court-by-Court Champions
Clerkenwell & Shoreditch (153 cases)
| District Judge | S42(2) Grants |
| DJ Bell | 23 |
| DJ Jeffs | 15 |
| DJ Anderson | 8 |
Willesden (47 cases)
| District Judge | S42(2) Grants |
| DJ Griffiths | 9 |
| DJ Sachdev | 8 |
| DJ Kanwar | 6 |
Central London (44 cases)
| District Judge | S42(2) Grants |
| DJ Fagbourn Bennett | 5 |
| DJ Greenidge | 5 |
| DJ Le Bas | 4 |
Brentford (30 cases)
| District Judge | S42(2) Grants |
| DJ Althaus | 9 |
| DJ Jenkins | 4 |
| DJ M Jenkins | 3 |
Bromley (21 cases)
| District Judge | S42(2) Grants |
| DJ Blake | 5 |
| DJ Brooks | 5 |
| DJ Watson | 2 |
Croydon (18 cases)
| District Judge | S42(2) Grants |
| DJ Rowland | 4 |
| DJ Waschkuhn | 3 |
| DJ Leong | 2 |
Wandsworth (19 cases)
| District Judge | S42(2) Grants |
| DJ Daley | 3 |
| DJ Leong | 2 |
| DJ Parker | 2 |
Edmonton (19 cases)
| District Judge | S42(2) Grants |
| DJ Cohen | 4 |
| DJ Evans | 1 |
| DJ Hillam | 1 |
We also want to acknowledge the judges at Birmingham (DJ Phillips, DJ Drayson, DJ Fawcett), Manchester, Stratford Housing Centre (DJ Redpath-Stevens, DJ Cheunviratsakul), Barnet, and the many other courts across England and Wales where our advocates have successfully argued for — and obtained — Section 42(2) permission.
Two Ways to Protect Yourself
Whether you are acting now under Section 21 before the deadline, or preparing to navigate the new Section 8 landscape from May 2026, Shergroup has the legal and enforcement expertise to support you:
Option 1: End-to-End Possession Claim Service
Shergroup Legal handles your possession claim from the very beginning — from serving Section 21 or Section 8 notices through to obtaining the possession order and immediately instructing our enforcement team.
One-time fee of £1,999 plus court fee of £355 (plus £165+VAT if a process server is required).
From 1 May 2026, this service will be fully adapted to the Section 8 framework, including:
- Correct identification of the right Section 8 ground(s) — with multiple grounds pleaded where appropriate to maximise the chance of success
- Professionally drafted Section 8 notice — correct form, correct evidence, correct notice period
- Section 42(2) permission always included — our advocate attends the possession hearing and makes the application to the District Judge in person
- Immediate instruction to our enforcement team — the moment the order is granted
- One point of contact — throughout the entire process from notice to eviction
Option 2: High Court Property Recovery Service
Already have a possession order? Our High Court Property Recovery Service takes over and moves your case into the faster High Court enforcement arena.
Fixed fee of £999 plus VAT for the complete transfer and enforcement process.
- Apply for Section 42(2) permission if not already included
- Prepare and issue the Writ of Possession at the Royal Courts of Justice or local District Registry
- Serve a Notice of Eviction and schedule the eviction date
- Execute the Writ of Possession with a full enforcement report
Not Sure Where to Start?
Our Business Solution Consultants are available at no charge to help you understand your options, identify the right Section 8 ground for your situation, and work out the best path forward under the new legislation. Call 0203 588 4240 or email [email protected] to speak with one of the team.
The Bottom Line
Our analysis of 603 cases across 95+ courts and 201 clients confirms that efficient management of the possession process saves landlords real money — 40–100+ days and £1,000–£8,000+ in lost rent.
The Renters’ Rights Act changes the landscape, but it does not remove landlords’ right to possession. What it does is raise the bar for how possession is obtained. The process demands more legal precision, stronger evidence, and even greater urgency once a possession order is in hand.
The three critical factors in the post-Section 21 world are:
- Get the Section 8 notice right first time. Wrong form, wrong ground, wrong evidence — any of these can add months to the process.
- Ensure Section 42(2) permission is in the possession order. This alone saves a median of 22 days (about 3 weeks) and over £1,000 once the order is granted.
- Instruct enforcement immediately. Landlords who instruct within 7 days of the order get their writ in 40 days (about 1 and a half months). Those who wait 60+ days wait 147 days.
And to the District Judges who are helping landlords access justice efficiently at the possession hearing: thank you. In a post-Section 21 world, your willingness to hear Section 42(2) applications promptly will matter more than ever.
Ready to discuss your case?
Contact one of our Business Solution Consultants to find the right solution for your situation — whether you need to act under Section 21 before the deadline or want to prepare for the Section 8 landscape ahead.
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High Court Property Recovery Service: www.shergroup.com/property-solutions/high-court-property-recovery-service/
Data source: Shergroup Transfer of Possession Order Tracker, 2021–2026 (603 cases, updated April 2026). Rent data: ONS Price Index of Private Rents, January 2026. Legislation: Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (c.26). Court timeline data: Ministry of Justice Mortgage and Landlord Possession Statistics, Q2 2025.