Change is coming to an (online) County Court (probably not) near you

Digital Transformation is happening fast all around us. But one change to how many property practitioners spend their time has been happening very slowly over the last three years with, so far, not very much attention paid to it. There might be a good reason for that. The transformation in this case looks like more of a slow, albeit welcome, evolution to ways of working with which we should already be familiar.

Since June 2023, the Online Procedure Rule Committee (‘OPRC’), chaired by the Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, has been meeting to implement reforms that will, at least in the view of the committee, represent a fundamental shift from traditional litigation to a digital-first approach to justice. This has culminated with The Online Procedure (Rules and Practice Directions) Rules 2026, laid before Parliament on 26 June 2026.

We know that the purpose of the ‘Digital Justice System’, at least in the view of the Master of the Rolls from a speech he gave about it in April 2025, is to resolve many disputes more ‘quickly and cheaply’ than the court system is currently able to do. We also know that possession proceedings are to be the first type of proceedings in England and Wales to be subject to their own ‘Online Procedure Rules for Possession Proceedings’, although those are yet to be published.

We do not yet know how far the digital transformation will go in doing away with traditional possession lists in County Court buildings up and down the country. It appears that the first step will be an online case management system, perhaps not dissimilar to the e-filing that High Court users are now used to, with more tools aimed at assisting litigants to access advice at an early stage. What it seems will not change, at least in the near future, is possession cases being decided by an overworked judge in a County Court.

Digital Justice

The OPRC was established under Section 19 of the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022. The Committee is uniquely empowered to create rules across civil, family, and tribunal jurisdictions.

Section 19(1) provides for the underlying basis for the new Online Procedure Rules, which:

(a)      must require that kind of proceedings, or one or more aspects of that kind of proceedings, to be initiated by electronic means;

(b)        may authorise or require that kind of proceedings, or one or more aspects of that kind of proceedings, to be conducted, progressed or disposed of by electronic means;

(c)        may authorise or require the parties to that kind of proceedings (and their representatives) to participate in hearings, including the hearing at which the proceedings are disposed of, by electronic means’

The only mandatory requirement is that the new Rules will require the proceedings to which they relate to be initiated by electronic means.

There is at least the possibility of proceedings being disposed of entirely by an online system without the need for a hearing. In many ways this is not all that radical. The accelerated possession procedure has been around for many years, allowing possession orders to be made without a hearing if they are unopposed. Similarly, default judgment allows uncontested money claims to be disposed of with a judge never having to be involved. One assumes the fact that this will be done via an online portal will not change the general position, which is that there will always be recourse to a judge if required.

The Core Requirements of new schemes

In November 2024, the OPRC set core requirements for the new ‘digital possession service’ built by HMCTS, which include:

• The digital system must handle possession claims of all kinds, including all party types (social landlords, private mortgagees, unrepresented tenants) from start to finish, including enforcement.
• Every claim will have a complete digital file available to all parties and the judiciary.
• For litigants in person (‘LiPs’) using paper, documents will be scanned and uploaded, with the uploaded digital copy remaining the “source of truth” for that submission
• Once pilot testing is complete, the use of the digital service will be compulsory for all legally represented parties.
• The system must be capable of expanding to handle cases within the Tribunals’ Property Chamber in due course.
• The service must include an ability for the public to see how all aspects of the live system work without being involved in a live claim.

Many of the requirements are not dissimilar to current iterations of online case management systems used in some courts and tribunals already. The additional for the requirement that all paperwork submitted by LiPs is scanned and uploaded appears welcome, especially to those who have arrived at a hearing to be surprised by large volumes of documentation, although there has to be some sympathy for the court staff charged with this task and the need for human involvement adds an element of unreality to the ambition that the new online system will really lead to drastically more efficient outcomes.

Interestingly, in March 2026, the Committee rejected a “blanket provision” that would automatically apply the CPR where the online rules are silent (in a similar way as happens with the Insolvency Rules). It was argued that this would unfairly burden users with identifying applicable rules. Instead, any reliance on existing rules will be explicit and limited to ensure the new rules remain the primary guide for users.

Timetable

We should find out more about how the system will work quite soon. This month (July 2026) a pilot launch of the digital possession service is due to be rolled out to select courts, focussed on social housing claims. There will then be a phased rollout (exact details tbc) to other courts and claims by private landlords.

Slightly concerningly in the current funding climate, the programme only appears to have money allocated until April 2027 with a full rollout planned by summer of that year. It is not entirely clear what happens after that, but it would appear there is no plan for additional resources to be funded after that point.

The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) is expected to join the online case management system between April and October 2027.

Conclusion

Given the apparent aims of the Online Procedure Rules are to facilitate early settlement, it seems odd that possession proceedings, which are often impossible to settle for a variety of reasons, will be the first to be subject to the new online procedure. As any practitioner who deals with possession hearings will know, one of the main barriers to settling proceedings is often the inability of tenants to agree to a possession order being made through fear of their local authority accusing them of making themselves intentionally homeless. It is difficult to see how any of that will change. There is often not an easy compromise to be reached where the ultimate consequence is the loss of a home.

It is also not clear precisely what resources, whether judicial or administrative, will be applied to the new online system. The main frustration users often have with the County Court is it wholly inadequate administrative resourcing compared to the number of cases it has to deal with. It is often impossible to get any sensible answers until a case gets listed before a judge. Will the creation of an online case management tool really change that if the administrative resources to manage cases are not also increased?

There have been many attempts to make justice more efficient and cost effective over the decades. The Civil Procedure Rules themselves are an example, as are the (now incredibly complex) rules on fixed costs. Will a new set of Online Procedure Rules to sit alongside the existing CPR make things more efficient; or will they like previous amendments and additions to the procedure rules simply add a layer of additional burden on legal representatives to comply? We should find out quite soon.

Article by Adam Smith-Roberts.