Despite changes made to the law by the Housing Act 1996 to speed up the process, it still takes time to recover possession from a defaulting tenant. The landlord cannot issue proceedings until 14 days after the service of the default notice on the tenant. The possession hearing will take place between four and eight weeks from the date of issue of the court proceedings.

If the tenant fails to vacate by the date stated in the possession order the landlord cannot simply change the locks to the property. Doing so can result in significant compensation being awarded to a tenant and it is also possible for criminal sanctions to be imposed on the landlord. The appropriate course of action is for the landlord to issue a warrant for possession. The warrant authorises the Court Bailiff to recover possession on behalf of the landlord. In practice it takes a Court Bailiff approximately four weeks from the date of receipt of the warrant to return possession to the landlord.

In view of the length of the procedure for recovery of possession, it is important for landlords to take prompt action when faced with a defaulting tenant. There are some products that are available which can assist landlords in these circumstances such as tenant default insurance. In addition, there are on line legal services which specifically deal with the recovery of possession and of rent arrears on behalf of residential landlords.

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