Possession Claims Move Online, The New Court Service Live in Parts of England

A new digital service for possession claims went live at noon on Tuesday 29 September 2026, the first court service to run under the Online Procedure Rules 2026. The Online Procedure Rule Committee published its practice direction for possession proceedings the same day, setting out how claims made through the service must be handled.

For now the service is narrow. It covers registered social landlords in England bringing claims in postcode areas served by the County Courts at Bradford, Huddersfield and Wandsworth. Community landlords in Wales, in areas served by Caernarfon County Court, start using it from noon on 15 October 2026.

Who Can Use the New Online Possession Claims Service?

The practice direction is precise about who is in scope. In England, the claimant must be a registered provider of social housing seeking possession of social housing. In Wales, it must be a community landlord. The land in question has to sit within one of the postcode areas listed in the direction, and the case has to be allocated to one of the four initial “OPR court centres”: Bradford, Caernarfon, Huddersfield or Wandsworth.

The Wandsworth area takes in a large block of south west and west London postcodes, while Bradford and Huddersfield cover parts of West Yorkshire and neighbouring areas. Claimants can check where a case would be allocated using an allocation checker inside MyHMCTS. Anyone who cannot use the checker is directed to the National Contact Centre for Civil and Family Courts on 0300 123 5577, open 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

Private landlords are not covered at this stage. Nor are several types of case that involve possession but follow different procedures, which are covered further down.

How an Online Possession Claim Works, Step by Step

A claimant starts by signing into a MyHMCTS account and following the possession process. Separate proceedings must be started for each property. The claimant uploads the tenancy or licence agreement, any notice of intention to repossess and, where rent arrears are claimed, the rent statement relied on. In Wales, the Energy Performance Certificate, gas safety report and electrical installation condition report must also be uploaded.

Everything is then confirmed with a statement of truth and the relevant fee. Once submitted, the claim cannot be changed without the court’s permission. The court records the start of the claim, fixes a date for what the practice direction calls the primary hearing and sends the defendant a claim pack. That pack contains a copy of the claim, the hearing date, the court centre handling the case and information to help the defendant respond. It also explains how to reply online or by other means.

The standard gap between the start date in the digital service and the primary hearing is no more than eight weeks. If the defendant’s address is outside England and Wales, the court cannot send the claim pack, and the claimant must apply for permission to serve it themselves.

What Tenants and Defendants Can Do When a Claim Is Made

Defendants are not forced online. The claim pack explains that a defendant can respond through the digital service or choose nonelectronic means, using paper forms and posting or delivering them to the court, which uploads them on their behalf. The Online Procedure Rules also allow unrepresented people to be notified of developments on paper.

A defendant does not have to file a response before the primary hearing and can attend and take part without one. The practice direction warns, though, that the court may take a failure to respond into account when deciding costs. A response can include a counterclaim, which carries its own fee and is listed for the same date as the primary hearing.

Timing rules differ by route. A document sent by email alert is treated as received when the email is sent, while post is treated as received four days after the date it was printed. That matters because the hearing date is measured from when the claim pack is deemed received.

Anyone who has to pay a fee can apply for Help with Fees, either online or on paper form EX160. While an application is being considered, a party may proceed without paying. If it is refused, or part of the fee is payable, the court sets a deadline, and missing it can bring sanctions.

What Happens at a Possession Hearing and After It

At the primary hearing the court can decide the claim and any counterclaim, making or refusing a possession order or an alternative to possession. It can also direct a further hearing or give case management directions ahead of a trial. Where the landlord relies on rent arrears, an updated and verified statement must be uploaded at least a day before the hearing, and two paper copies brought to court.

Hearings are held in public unless the court orders otherwise for good reason. Every hearing is officially recorded, and anyone may request a transcript for a charge. Recording by anyone else without the court’s permission is contempt of court, and the practice direction says the penalties can include fines or imprisonment for up to two years. The same maximum applies to knowingly making a false statement of truth.

If a party does not turn up, the court may go ahead without them or relist the hearing. A party who misses a hearing can apply to have the resulting order set aside, but they must act quickly, show a good reason for their absence and show a reasonable chance of a better outcome. Unless the court says otherwise, any order to pay money must be complied with within 14 days.

Which Possession Cases Are Still Handled the Old Way?

The direction covers possession proceedings up to and including the court’s final order. Appendix B lists what it leaves out, accelerated possession claims, interim possession orders, claims against trespassers who never had a right to occupy, and proceedings for relief against forfeiture of a lease. Standalone applications for demotion or suspension orders are also outside it, as are Welsh prohibited conduct standard contract orders.

Enforcement is excluded too, for example a warrant of possession, along with interim appeals and appeals against the final order. The rules say plainly that some areas of procedure are not yet provided for, and that the relevant parts of the Civil Procedure Rules will apply in the meantime. Those include sanctions for nonpayment of fees, striking out, disclosure of documents and costs. The direction adds that it will continue to develop alongside the digital service.

Will Online Possession Claims Be Rolled Out Across England and Wales?

The Committee called the launch “an important milestone in the development of Online Procedure Rules”. The rules themselves state the aim as promoting access to justice by resolving disputes digitally, quickly, efficiently, fairly and at proportionate cost. They also require that the digital service be usable by all, with plain language guidance, reasonable adjustments, assisted digital support and nondigital alternatives.

Under the rules, if the service is unavailable, no one is to be disadvantaged because they could not use it at the time. The rules also give a court the power to order that a case stops being an online proceeding and reverts to the ordinary procedure where that is necessary to achieve justice.

The Committee has not said when the service will extend to more court centres or to other types of landlord. The announcement describes the rollout as phased, so the four current court centres are best understood as a starting point.

One point of detail for readers checking the paperwork, the Online Procedure Rules 2026 publication on GOV.UK carries a note that the rules come into force on 7 September 2026, while the Committee’s 29 September announcement says the rules came into force on that day, alongside the service launch. The announcement is the more recent of the two.