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Landlords initiated court proceedings against fewer tenants in the final months of last year than a year earlier, according to official data.
However, private landlords ended the year repossessing 7,254 buy-to-let homes in the final quarter - a 3 percent rise of 217 homes compared with Q4 2024.
The Ministry of Justice, which keeps figures on landlord court actions to repossess private rented homes, says applications for claims, orders, and warrants decreased while repossessions increased.
Claims before the courts were down 11 percent to 21,458; orders reduced 8 percent to 16,913, and warrants dropped 12 percent to 9,606.
Landlord possession claims increased steadily from Q2 2021, peaking in Q3 2024 at 25,402. These numbers have fallen to 21,458. Accelerated claims are down 17 percent,, private landlord claims are down 3 percent while social landlord claims are down 11 percent, compared to the same quarter in 2024
In Q4 2025, 38 percent (8,104) of all landlord possession claims were social landlord claims, compared to 32 percent (6,862) private landlord claims and 30 percent (6,492) of accelerated claims.
The 12 percent decrease in landlord warrants compared to Q4 2024 was driven by a decrease in London. The largest regional number (3,324) was again found in London, making up 35 percent of all landlord warrants. There was a decrease of 21 percent for landlord warrants in London (from 4,230 in Q4 2024).
Median timeliness figures for landlord claims to orders and warrants have remained relatively stable compared to the same period of 2024, while repossession timeliness increased by two weeks over the same period.
How the median time taken to complete landlord actions increased for warrants and repossessions:
Claims to order median timeliness has decreased to 7.3 weeks, down from 8.0 weeks in the same period in 2024.
Claims to warrant median timeliness is currently 14.9 weeks, up from 14.3 weeks in the same period in 2024.
Warrants to repossessions median timeliness increased to 9.6 weeks, up from 8.9 weeks in the same period in 2024.
Claims to repossessions median timeliness has increased to 27.0 weeks, up from 25.0 weeks in the same period in 2024.
Private landlord repossessions were highest in Redbridge, East London, with 113 evictions. Barking and Dagenham, East London, had the second-highest number of evictions at 57, followed by Thurrock, Essex, with 27.
London councils accounted for six out of the top 10 authorities with the highest number of evictions in Q4 2025.
Redbridge had almost six times the number of repossessions in Q4 2025 compared with the leading social landlord council, Reading, Berkshire, with 20.