The major real estate industry has called for a shortage of government additional cash for civil courts in its latest judicial system funding announcement, and the courts say it will struggle to address the additional work created by the Renter's Rights Bill, unless more cash is given.
Comments were made by Neil Cobbold (main image), commercial director at Reapit, who has said the court will face following the abolition of “no-fault” evictions in Section 21. 
The bill also proposes to scrap the fixed period and requires that all rent increases be provided via Section 13 Notice. These measures are likely to increase the demand for courts and court times, Kobold said.
The government doesn't know
However, through a request for freedom of information (FOI), Reapit discovered that the government has no idea of the size of the issue and, for example, has not tracked rent increase lawsuits.
The impact of similar reforms in Scotland suggests that the English court system could face 1.3 million market rent cases each year if all tenants subject to rent increases choose to challenge them.
Even worse delay
And even before the change, a government survey found that in 2018 90% of landlords reported court delays, and 95% of respondents reported that enforcement by county court enforcement officers took too long.
According to Reapit, the government has commissioned the justice impact test and a new burden assessment of the renter's rights bill, but neither have yet to be released, so the key question that the RRB intends to use courts and courts as resources before it becomes law later this year remains unanswered.
Cobbold said: “Without these assessments, extra costs could be excluded from government future spending reviews, which could delay the essential resources of councils and courts.”
