Online Procedure Rule Committee publishes draft practice direction for possession proceedings

The digital service for possession proceedings is the first service to be governed by the Online Procedure Rules.

The OPRC said the draft is being published in advance of implementation to support awareness and preparations, ahead of the anticipated first release of the digital service for possession proceedings next month.

The committee said: “Developed alongside the Online Procedure Rules 2026 (which establish the procedural framework for all online proceedings) the practice direction sets out the procedural requirements for proceedings conducted using the digital service, including communications, hearings, evidence and court orders.”

The new digital service for possession proceedings will be rolled out in phases and the draft practice direction sets out which cases are covered in the first phase.

Possession cases that are not within the scope of this phase of the digital service will continue to be governed by the Civil Procedure Rules, the OPRC said.

The committee noted that some matters of procedure for cases covered by the digital service are not yet covered by either the OPR or directly by the practice direction, notably appeals and enforcement.

“Those matters will be provided for in due course. Until then, those matters will be dealt with under the relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Rules,” it said.

The initial court centres for online possession proceedings are Bradford, Caernarfon, Huddersfield and Wandsworth.

The practice direction will apply to registered social landlords in England and community landlords in Wales, who are making a claim for possession of a property in a postcode area served by one of those courts.  These postcode areas are listed in Appendix A of the practice direction.

Further phases will see the digital service rolled out to further geographical areas and user groups.

The OPRC stressed that the content of the draft remains subject to final review and approval, and minor amendments might be made before the final practice direction is issued and comes into force.

“Publication of this draft does not create any legal obligations and should not be relied upon as the definitive statement of the applicable procedure. The final version will be published once the relevant procedural and legislative arrangements have been completed.”