Landlords will pay more to pursue possession claims from next week after the government confirmed inflation-linked court and tribunal fee rises across the justice system, including the main charges tied to eviction action.
From 13 July, the fee for a possession claim will rise from £404 to £415, while the fee for a warrant of possession handled by county court bailiffs will increase from £148 to £152. The changes are part of a wider July update covering dozens of court and tribunal charges.
For landlords, the immediate point is practical rather than dramatic. The increases are small in cash terms, but they arrive just as the sector is still adjusting to a post-Section 21 system that puts more weight on formal possession routes, evidence and court capacity.
Possession and tribunal fees move higher from 13 July
The government says the revised charges are linked to inflation and subject to parliamentary approval. Alongside possession and bailiff fees, 80 fees in the Residential Property Division of the First-tier Tribunal will also rise, affecting a wider set of housing disputes and appeals.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service, said the updated fees would help fund improvements across the justice system, including digitisation work already promised as part of the courts reform programme.
That matters because landlords have been told repeatedly that court modernisation will help the possession system cope with heavier reliance on Section 8 grounds. Residential Landlord’s recent reporting on the government’s claim that courts can handle more Section 8 cases set out that argument in full. Higher fees now place another small cost on top of that promise.
There is also a wider signal here. A fee rise of a few pounds will not decide whether a landlord acts, but it does underline that enforcement is becoming a more formal, document-heavy and cost-sensitive process. For smaller landlords, the total bill matters more than any single line item once advice, compliance work and time delays are factored in.
Small increases still add to a more expensive possession system
In isolation, a move from £404 to £415 is not a major shock. But landlords no longer judge court costs in isolation. They judge them against waiting times, uncertainty over outcomes and the broader loss of flexibility that came with the end of Section 21.
This follows Residential Landlord’s coverage of Propertymark’s warning on long possession waits, which showed why confidence in the court route remains fragile even where ministers say reform is under way. If fees rise before service standards clearly improve, landlords will notice the mismatch.
The practical takeaway is simple. Landlords facing arrears or serious breaches should not leave paperwork, notice drafting or evidence gathering until the last minute. A system that costs slightly more and still moves slowly leaves less room for avoidable mistakes.
Primary source: court and tribunal fees updates from July 2026.
Opinion
This is not a headline-making rise on its own, but it lands badly because landlords are still being asked to trust a possession system that many do not yet see as quick or dependable. If ministers want the court route to carry more of the sector’s strain, the service needs to get better faster than the fees go up.
