“10 Months and Counting”: Real Landlords Share Their Eviction Nightmares

Across the UK, landlords are sharing shocking accounts of just how long it now takes to remove a non-paying tenant — and how much it costs.

As a companion to our post ‘Landlords Warned: Real-Life Eviction Timelines Show Why Waiting for the Courts Can Be a 10-Month Nightmare‘, we look at 6 more cases from real life landlords sharing their experiences on landlord forums.

In the Leaders’ Renters Rights Bill Zone on LandlordZONE, one frustrated poster summed it up with brutal clarity:

“The Government is running faster than Usain Bolt to introduce the Renters Rights Bill without addressing the long delays at the Courts.”

He described his own case — a textbook example of how the system is failing landlords.

“A tenant must be in 3–4 months’ arrears before a landlord can invoke Section 8. Then it’s another 56 days before a hearing, 28–56 days to vacate, plus bailiffs — another 6–8 weeks. Estimated time to complete the circle: 10 months approximately. What will the Government do for the landlord who has lost 10 months’ rent?”

That single post has struck a chord with hundreds of landlords — because they’re living the same nightmare. Here are some of their stories.

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Case 1: “My hearing was adjourned for five months — I’m still paying the mortgage”

A landlord posting under the name RRB-Watcher said his case began in September 2025 and was adjourned until January 2026 because the court had no earlier dates.

“Five months just to get a new hearing — and that’s after two months waiting to file the Section 8. Add 56 days to vacate, plus two months for bailiffs, and you’re nearly at a year. Meanwhile, I’m covering the mortgage on a property earning nothing.”

He estimated losses of £10,000 + in rent, £6,000 in mortgage payments, and £1,500 in legal fees so far.

“You feel powerless. The system rewards tenants who don’t pay, and punishes landlords who play by the rules.”

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Case 2: “Tenants stopped paying — 14 months later, still no possession”

Over on Property118, another landlord described how his tenants stopped paying in early 2024.

“Section 8 served in April, first hearing in October. Possession granted, but the tenants appealed. Second hearing January 2025. Bailiff slot came through for March — then they didn’t turn up. Finally got possession in May 2025.”

By the time the property was empty, 14 months had passed.

“£16,000 lost rent, £8,500 in mortgage payments, £3,000 legal costs, £2,000 damage — nearly £30,000 gone. I could have sold at a discount and been out long ago.”

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Case 3: “The tenant laughed when the notice arrived”

On the OpenRent Community Forum, a landlord wrote:

“When I served Section 8, the tenant literally laughed and said, ‘See you next year’. Turns out she wasn’t wrong.”

It took 11 months from notice to possession. The court even told her that bailiffs were “backed up for at least 10 weeks.”

“I ended up remortgaging to cover the payments while waiting. I’ve been a landlord 12 years, but this broke me. I’ll never let again.”

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Case 4: “Court delays turned a £1,200 arrears issue into £12,000”

A small landlord from Manchester explained how a relatively minor problem spiralled out of control.

“The tenant fell two months behind, I tried to help. By the time the court date arrived, he owed me 12 months’ rent. The judge gave him another 56 days to leave. He stayed the full time.”

He added:

“The property was wrecked. By the time I fixed it and found a new tenant, it was 16 months with no rent.”

The total cost — including arrears, repairs, and mortgage — was close to £25,000.

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Case 5: “Eviction granted — but no bailiffs available”

Another LandlordZONE user described winning possession in court in July 2025, only to be told there were no bailiff slots available until October.

“Three more months of waiting. Every call to the court got the same answer: ‘We’re short-staffed’. It’s outrageous that a court order means nothing without someone to enforce it.”

He added that he’d already accepted an offer from an investor buyer but couldn’t complete because the tenant was still in situ.

“If I’d gone through a landlord sales agency, I could have been done months ago. Instead, I’m stuck paying £1,000 a month on a property I can’t even access.”

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Case 6: “You can’t plan around chaos”

A veteran landlord who owns several small properties posted:

“I can deal with compliance, maintenance, all the paperwork — but I can’t plan around a system that takes a year to evict someone who’s not paying rent.”

He’s now selling his portfolio gradually, property by property.

“I’ll take 10–15% below market value if it means I’m out quickly. Waiting for the courts costs more — and it’s destroying people’s mental health.”

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The bigger picture

Across all these stories, a pattern emerges:

• Eviction timelines of 10–15 months are now common.
• Lost rent, mortgage, and legal costs often exceed £25,000.
• Court adjournments and bailiff delays are getting worse.
• Many landlords are quitting the sector altogether rather than risk it happening again.

And yet, the Government presses ahead with the Renters Rights Bill, which will push even more cases into the same clogged courts.

As one forum user put it:

“They’re racing to empower tenants, but they’ve forgotten the courts are still crawling.”

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A note for landlords considering their options

The message from these real-world cases is clear:
Don’t underestimate the cost — or the timescale — of going through the courts.

For some, selling through a specialist landlord sales agency, even at a 10–15% discount, may actually save money compared with losing rent and paying mortgage interest for over a year.

Because as one weary landlord concluded on LandlordZONE:

“You can always make more money. You can’t get back lost time.”