Chelmsford County Court: possession claims, orders and bailiff evictions
Chelmsford Justice Centre is the court HMCTS lists for housing possession claims from parts of 13 council areas. The Ministry of Justice publishes its figures under the name Chelmsford County and Family Proceedings Court. Region: South East.
Information, not legal advice. Know Your Let is not a law firm and does not act in court cases. We can help with the notice stage (see pricing); court claims and hearings are for you or a solicitor.
landlord possession claims, Q3 2025 to Q2 2026 (private, accelerated and social landlords); -3.4% on the year before.
repossessions by county court bailiffs in the same period, against 617 warrants issued.
Relative backlog score: rank 68 of 125 courts (1 = most congested). Our estimate from MoJ volumes, not a waiting time.
Chelmsford County and Family Proceedings Court possession claims: last 8 quarters
Private landlords using the standard (section 8) procedure. These are counts of events at this court each quarter, not one group of cases followed through.
| Quarter | Claims | Orders | Warrants | Bailiff repossessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | 101 | 84 | 61 | 32 |
| Q4 2024 | 100 | 102 | 57 | 49 |
| Q1 2025 | 98 | 89 | 66 | 45 |
| Q2 2025 | 134 | 82 | 59 | 39 |
| Q3 2025 | 98 | 97 | 56 | 39 |
| Q4 2025 | 90 | 75 | 66 | 42 |
| Q1 2026 | 109 | 90 | 58 | 33 |
| Q2 2026 | 96 | 84 | 41 | 35 |
Source: MoJ Mortgage and landlord possession statistics, April to June 2026 (court-level CSV). “—” means no figure was published for that quarter.
Last four quarters by type of claim
| Type | Claims | Orders | Warrants | Repossessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private landlord – standard (section 8) | 393 | 346 | 221 | 149 |
| Private landlord – accelerated (section 21) | 407 | 370 | 191 | 104 |
| Social landlord | 434 | 375 | 205 | 94 |
Accelerated claims come from section 21 notices served before 1 May 2026. Those claims had to be issued by 31 July 2026 at the latest, so from 2026 Q3 new private-landlord claims here should be section 8 claims only.
How to read the backlog score
- Orders per claim: 0.88 – possession orders made relative to claims issued.
- Warrants per order: 0.57 – how often landlords go on to ask for bailiffs.
- Repossessions per warrant: 0.56 – bailiff evictions carried out relative to warrants issued. A low figure can mean a bailiff queue, but it also falls when tenants leave before the appointment.
The score (0–100) averages this court's percentile on claims growth, on 1 − orders per claim and on 1 − repossessions per warrant, across courts with at least 100 landlord claims a year. MoJ does not publish waiting times for each court, so treat it as a rough comparison.
How long an eviction takes (national figures)
MoJ only publishes timings for England and Wales as a whole. For private landlords' standard possession claims in Q2 2026 the median times from issuing the claim were:
| Stage | Median | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Claim to possession order | 8.0 wks | 11.1 wks |
| Claim to warrant | 13.3 wks | 19.4 wks |
| Warrant to repossession | 8.7 wks | 14.7 wks |
| Claim to repossession | 24.6 wks | 33.6 wks |
Add the notice period before the claim: 4 weeks for rent arrears (Grounds 8, 10, 11), 4 months for selling or moving in (Grounds 1, 1A). Work out your dates with this court selected →
Checking a possession hearing date at Chelmsford Justice Centre
We do not have hearing lists. The court sends the hearing date to both sides with the claim papers (the notice of issue). If you issued through Possession Claim Online you can follow progress there; otherwise contact the court using the details on its HMCTS page: Chelmsford Justice Centre on Find a court or tribunal.
Chelmsford County and Family Proceedings Court bailiffs: fees and what happens
If the tenant does not leave by the date in the order, you ask this court for a warrant of possession (form N325, or N325A after a suspended order). The court sends you forms EX96 (appointment) and EX97A (risk assessment), which must be returned at least 3 working days before the eviction. The tenant must get at least 14 days' notice of the appointment. More on bailiffs and warrants.
| Court fee (from 13 July 2026) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Possession claim (paper N5 or online PCOL) | £415 |
| Warrant of possession (N325) | £152 |
| Permission to transfer to the High Court (N244, without notice) | £126 |
| Sealing a High Court writ of possession | £82 |
| Tenant's application to suspend a warrant | £16 |
Councils served
HMCTS points possession claims from postcodes in these council areas to Chelmsford Justice Centre. Some councils are split between courts, so check your postcode.
- Babergh
- Basildon
- Braintree
- Brentwood
- Chelmsford
- Colchester
- East Hertfordshire
- Epping Forest
- Harlow
- Maldon
- Tendring
- Uttlesford
- Chichester
Small claims waits at this court
If you also need to claim money from a tenant who has left, small claims at Chelmsford took a median of 48.1 wks from issue to hearing in Q2 2026 (the middle court in England and Wales: 37.8 wks). Small claims figures for this court →
Check which court covers your postcode Eviction timeline tool
Related guides
Grounds, notice periods and serving it properly.Possession claim: N5, N119 and PCOL →
Which form, what to attach, the £415 fee.The possession hearing →
What the judge can order and what to bring.All eviction courts →
Compare courts in England.
Sources
- MoJ: Mortgage and landlord possession statistics, April to June 2026
- MoJ: Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly, April to June 2026
- HMCTS: Chelmsford Justice Centre (address and contact)
- GOV.UK: Repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026
- GOV.UK: Civil court fees (EX50), updated 13 July 2026
Last checked 28 Sep 2026. Figures and fees change; check the official source before you act.