England's housing courts are struggling under a surge of no-fault and landlord-sale evictions, with lawyers warning the system has reached breaking point as tenants with nowhere else to go try to delay proceedings for as long as possible. The strain comes despite the Renters' Rights Act banning section 21 no-fault evictions, as landlords increasingly turn to section 8 notices to sell up, citing declining financial viability, leaving long-standing tenants struggling to find alternative homes.

Official data show a 16% rise in section 21 evictions between April and June 2026 compared with the same period last year, while hearing waits have stretched from two to three months to up to a year, and bailiff waits in parts of London now reach seven months. Savills estimates 254,000 buy-to-let homes were listed for sale in the year to March 2026, a 28% rise on 2024, with roughly 93,000 landlords leaving the market in 2025 and a further 110,000 forecast to exit in 2026; former rental properties now make up 30% of new sales in London compared with 13% elsewhere in the country.