London landlords who sought repossession of their properties in 2019 had to wait an average of 30 weeks from making a claim to the court issuing an order, research by the Residential Landlords Association has found.

The wait in London has increased from 23 weeks in 2018 and is eight weeks longer than the national average wait time of 22 weeks.

The RLA says that the authorities simply cannot cope with the volume of repossession claims after more than half of courts in England and Wales were closed between 2010 and 2019.

The landlord body is calling for urgent reforms and warns the delays are likely to get worse when Section 21 so-called “no-fault” evictions are banned.

It argues this will lead to much greater pressure on the courts to rule on cases such as rent arrears or anti-social behaviour.

The RLA is calling on the government to establish a dedicated housing court in order to improve and speed up access to justice for landlords and tenants.

Policy manager John Stewart says: “If landlords feel that they might have to wait forever to regain possession of their property where they have good reason, such as tenants committing anti-social behaviour or failing to pay their rent, increasing numbers are going to feel it is not worth the risk of letting the property out in the first place. 

“This will just add to the already growing shortage of investment in rented housing which is badly needed to meet a rising demand.

“The RLA was delighted when the government consulted on its proposal for a housing court a year ago but nothing has happened since.

“It needs to get on and get it set up for the benefit of landlords and tenants alike.”