Almost 8-in-10 (79%) of private landlords with experience of using the courts to repossess properties are dissatisfied with the way they work. Also, according to one of the largest ever surveys of landlords and letting agents, 91% of landlords would support the establishment of a dedicated housing court.

In a letter to the new Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland MP, the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), which conducted the research, has warned that with Ministers pledged to scrap Section 21 ‘no explanation’ repossessions, the courts are simply unable to cope with the increased pressures they will face.

It currently takes an average of over five months from a landlord applying to court for a property to be returned to them. In Scotland, when similar reforms were undertaken, the Government had to invest new money and provide more staff after it underestimated the increased pressures brought on the court system.

It is not just landlords who find the system difficult to work with. According to previous research published by Citizens Advice, 54% of tenants have said that the complexity of the process puts them off taking landlords to court where their landlord is failing to look after their property and 45% of tenants said that the time involved put them off taking action through the courts.