Record rental demand doing little to reduce tenancies ending
The latest analysis from LegalforLandlords has revealed that almost 29,000 landlord possession claims were lodged across England and Wales over the last year, highlighting that strong tenant demand and record rental prices are doing little to reduce the number of tenancies ending in legal action.
LegalforLandlords analysed the latest government data on landlord possessions to identify where landlords have been most likely to pursue possession through the courts over the four quarters between Q2 2025 and Q1 2026.
While the rental market continues to be characterised by limited housing supply, rising rents and intense competition for available homes, the analysis suggests that landlords continue to face significant challenges when tenancies break down, with a total of 28,610 possession claims issued over the last four quarters.
London remains the centre of landlord possession activity
London accounted for by far the highest number of landlord possession claims of any region, with 10,186 claims issued over the last year. This is almost three times the total seen across the South East (3,396), while the North West ranked third with 3,255 claims.
The West Midlands (2,402), East of England (2,235), East Midlands (1,842), Yorkshire and the Humber (1,768), South West (1,488) and North East (1,186) completed the regional rankings.
At a local authority level, Newham recorded the highest number of landlord possession claims over the last year at 984, ahead of Birmingham (691), Redbridge (615), Enfield (588) and Croydon (544).
The remainder of the top 10 was dominated by London boroughs, with Barking and Dagenham (528), Lewisham (514), Ealing (507), Manchester (502) and Greenwich (457) also seeing particularly high levels of possession activity.
Strong demand doesn’t eliminate landlord risk
LegalforLandlords says the figures highlight an often-overlooked reality of today’s rental market.
While demand for rental homes remains exceptionally strong, landlords can still encounter circumstances that ultimately require possession proceedings, including prolonged rent arrears, tenancy breaches, antisocial behaviour or the need to recover possession following the end of a tenancy. Even in areas where rental properties are typically re-let quickly, the legal process of recovering possession can remain lengthy, costly and heavily regulated.
As a result, landlords are being encouraged to ensure they have appropriate legal protection and expert guidance in place should a tenancy deteriorate.
Sim Sekhon, Group CEO of LegalforLandlords, commented: “The narrative surrounding today’s rental market is often that landlords hold all the cards because demand is so strong. These figures demonstrate that the reality is considerably more nuanced.
High demand doesn’t prevent tenancies from breaking down, nor does it remove the need for landlords to recover possession when serious issues such as rent arrears or tenancy breaches arise. In many cases, possession proceedings represent the final step after every reasonable attempt has been made to resolve the situation.
The legal framework surrounding possession has become increasingly complex in recent years, making it more important than ever that landlords understand both their rights and their responsibilities. Getting the process wrong can lead to significant delays, additional costs and, ultimately, prolonged financial losses.
Good landlords don’t want to evict tenants. They want successful, long-term tenancies. But when a tenancy unfortunately reaches the point where possession becomes unavoidable, having access to experienced legal support is essential to ensure the process is handled correctly, fairly and in full compliance with the law.”
Data tables and sources