Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce court delays in relation to hearings for possession orders for anti-social behaviour.

The Ministry of Justice does not currently collect or publish data broken down by the specific grounds used in possession claims, such as anti-social behaviour.

The Civil Procedure Rules stipulate that possession claims should be listed within 4 to 8 weeks. The most recent published statistics, covering the period April to June 2025 show that the median time from claim to order is 7.9 weeks, consistent with the same period in 2024. The timeliness of subsequent enforcement of an order, where this is required, can be influenced by the actions of users as well as the court. Less than 25% of possession claims require progression to enforcement.

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 which has recently received Royal Assent, will shorten the notice period for the existing mandatory anti-social behaviour eviction ground. As soon as landlords have served their notice for eviction to the tenant for anti-social behaviour using this ground, they can begin possession proceedings through the court immediately.

The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly data on possession claims at: Mortgage and landlord possession statistics: April to June 2025 - GOV.UK.