Civil Court Users Association (CCUA) has been made aware that the administration for Warrants of Possession is being centralised at the Stratford Housing Centre for the following courts, as of 21 June 2023:
- Barnet County Court
- Central London County Court
- Clerkenwell & Shoreditch County Court
- Edmonton County Court
- Romford County Court
- Stratford Housing Centre (Bow County Court)
- Willesden County Court
Rob Thompson, CCUA Chair, says:
“This has caused me concern. I am very aware from the issues which CCUA members raise with me, that the Stratford Housing Centre is frequently the source of delays, sometimes going back months. I have therefore reached out to HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) for confirmation and an explanation of the thinking behind the move.”
The response CCUA has received from HMCTS is:
“Yes that is correct, the Stratford Housing Centre will be taking on the administrative functions of Warrant of Possession work for the courts listed below. This work was previously administered at the London Bailiff Contact Centre based at Clerkenwell & Shoreditch County Court.
“This work is being moved as part of a wider plan to ensure the administration of certain types of work sits in the most suitable location. The possession warrant work is therefore being moved to a newly designed team within the Housing Centre, who specialise in this area of work, and who will manage the issue, risk assessments and booking of evictions.
“Stratford has encountered backlogs which have unfortunately caused delays to our users. However, the team have been working not only to address these but also to review processes in order to increase efficiency and reduce timescales for each step of a claim.”
CCUA will be keeping watch on how this works and asks members not to hesitate to raise any issues they experience.
