The Last Gasp of No-Fault Evictions: Kent Landlord Claims Hit a 23-Year High

For anyone renting their home, being told the landlord wants it back can turn life upside down. Where will you go? Can you afford somewhere else? Will the children have to change schools?

Now, newly released court figures reveal that landlords brought more accelerated possession claims in Kent during the summer of 2026 than in any quarter since local records began in 2003.

Between July and September, 315 accelerated landlord possession claims were recorded across Kent’s 12 districts, excluding Medway. That’s up from 202 during the same period last year — an increase of 56%. The previous quarterly record was 277, set in April–June 2015.

The law changed. The clock was ticking.

The timing isn’t a coincidence, although the figures don’t establish precisely what motivated each landlord.

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. Its main private-renting reforms came into force on 1 May 2026. Among the biggest changes was the abolition of Section 21, which had allowed landlords to seek possession without having to establish a particular fault or breach by the tenant.

There was, however, a catch.

Landlords who’d served valid Section 21 notices before 1 May could still use them to start court proceedings. But they had to act before the notice expired or by 31 July 2026, whichever came first. Existing cases properly brought before the deadline could carry on through the courts.

That gave landlords with outstanding notices a deadline they couldn’t ignore.

The Ministry of Justice believes the change helps explain the surge. Across England and Wales, accelerated claims jumped by 68%, from 7,238 to 12,156. Kent followed the same pattern, although its increase was smaller.

But here’s an important distinction. The figures cover three months, not individual days. They don’t reveal how many Kent claims were submitted in July, how many involved Section 21 notices or how many landlords acted specifically because the deadline was approaching.

And the Act hasn’t banned every eviction. Landlords can still seek possession using legally specified grounds, including certain circumstances involving rent arrears, selling a property or moving into it themselves. They must follow the appropriate legal process.

One type of claim drove the increase

Our examination of the raw figures uncovered something the overall Kent total conceals.

All landlord possession claims increased from 629 to 691 — a rise of almost 10%.

Yet accelerated claims alone increased by 113. Meanwhile, standard private landlord claims fell from 199 to 166, and standard social landlord claims dropped from 228 to 210.

Put simply, accelerated proceedings accounted for more than the entire net increase in landlord possession claims across Kent. The other two categories were moving in the opposite direction.

Accelerated possession is a particular court procedure, often associated with the former Section 21 route. It can be decided without a hearing in some circumstances, but it’s not an automatic eviction. Nor can the Ministry of Justice reliably separate accelerated cases into private and social landlord categories.

What’s happening across Kent?

The surge wasn’t evenly spread.

Thanet recorded the highest number of accelerated claims during the latest quarter, with 46, compared with 33 a year earlier.

Gravesham wasn’t far behind. Its figure jumped from 18 to 43, a rise of 139%. Swale increased from 11 to 28, while Tonbridge & Malling rose from five to 20.

Folkestone & Hythe recorded 30, up from 26. Canterbury remained unchanged at 22, while Dover went against the county trend, falling from 25 to 16.

Five districts — Gravesham, Sevenoaks, Swale, Tonbridge & Malling and Tunbridge Wells — recorded their highest quarterly accelerated claim totals since the local series began in 2003.

These figures need handling carefully. Larger districts may naturally have more court claims, and the number of rented homes differs between areas. The Ministry of Justice also assigns cases to local authorities using defendants’ correspondence addresses, which aren’t necessarily the addresses of the properties involved.

A court claim doesn’t mean somebody’s been evicted

There’s another finding worth examining.

Despite the increase in claims, landlord repossessions carried out by county court bailiffs across Kent fell from 167 to 122, a reduction of almost 27%.

Repossessions arising from accelerated landlord proceedings also fell, from 57 to 38.

On the face of it, that looks encouraging. But the claims issued this summer and the repossessions completed during those same months generally concern different cases. Some tenants leave before bailiffs arrive. Others challenge proceedings or reach agreements. We can’t divide the two totals to discover what happened to the latest claimants.

And the longer view tells a different story. Across the latest 12 months, Kent recorded 631 landlord bailiff repossessions, compared with 630 during the previous 12 months. Virtually no change at all.

So claims have surged, but there’s no evidence yet that the summer increase has translated into an equivalent rise in completed evictions.

What happened to the tenants?

That’s the question the statistics can’t answer.

The court records don’t tell us how many tenants stayed, how many moved voluntarily, how many faced homelessness or how many ended up asking their local council for help. Nor do they identify individual landlords or explain why each claim was brought.

Those missing answers matter. The Shepway Vox Team wants to establish whether the July deadline produced a concentrated rush of proceedings, how many resulted in possession orders, and whether Kent councils subsequently saw more homelessness applications or households needing temporary accommodation.

For anyone already facing possession proceedings, free legal advice is available through the government’s Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service. Help can begin when written notice is received, and eligibility for this initial assistance doesn’t depend on income.

The Renters’ Rights Act was intended to give private tenants greater security. Yet its introduction coincided with a record quarter for accelerated possession claims in Kent.

The record is real. What happened to the people behind those court cases remains unknown.

And that’s the next part of the story that deserves an answer.

Have you been affected by eviction or repossession?

If you’ve faced eviction, repossession or the threat of losing your home, we’d like to hear from you. Your experience could help us understand the human impact behind these figures. Anything you share with Shepway Vox will be treated in the strictest confidence. We won’t publish your name or identifying details without your express permission. Please contact us at: TheShepwayVoxTeam@proton.me

The Shepway Vox Team

Deliciously Delightful Dissent Since 2015