Landlords up in arms over plans to shut county courts

News Category: Industry News

Landlords are up in arms over plans to close a large number of county courts as part of the Coalition’s austerity plans.

The Residential Landlords Association is lobbying the Government to rethink its plans to scrap a number of its county courts. RLA members are also individually lobbying the Ministry of Justice.

The concern is that legislation makes it unlawful for landlords to take possession of their premises without a court order. Even with the existing number of courts, there is a huge backlog of applications by landlords.

The RLA’s lawyer, Richard Jones, said: “Residential landlords are among the few business people who regularly have to use the court service as part of their day to day work.

“Courts are already under great pressure and waiting lists are growing – and this would only get worse. But meanwhile, landlords have to allow tenants to continue living in their properties even if they are not paying their rent.

“Landlords have no choice but to sit back, allow arrears to mount up, and lose money they will never recover, while they wait for permission to gain possession of their own properties. Only then can they start to find new tenants. So, to us, an efficient, effective and above all speedy court service is vital.”
 
County courts under threat of closure are all over the country, including London and in Wales.


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