This section covers how to seek possession using the accelerated possession procedure for an assured shorthold tenancy, including:
To seek possession using the accelerated possession procedure, the tenancy must be an assured shorthold tenancy – for types of tenancy, see Types of tenancy (England). There must be a written tenancy agreement.
The accelerated possession procedure allows a landlord to serve a notice on the tenant giving them notice to leave by a specified date. The notice is called a section 21 notice (because it's served under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988). You can use our document Notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to create a valid notice.
If the tenant doesn't leave after a valid section 21 notice has been served, you can apply to the county court for an order for possession to evict the tenant.
The tenancy must meet certain criteria before you can serve a section 21 notice. If the criteria aren't met, a claim for possession under this procedure is unlikely to succeed (and you're advised to seek legal advice).
The criteria:
As well as the above criteria, you must make sure that:
Registration of deposit
Providing the prescribed information to the tenant
You can still serve a section 21 notice if you didn't give the tenant (and anyone who's paid the deposit for them) the required information at the start of the tenancy as long as you give them this information before serving the section 21 notice. But you can't serve a section 21 notice if you haven't correctly registered the deposit with an authorised scheme (unless the deposit has been repaid).
You can't serve a section 21 notice to seek possession after the tenant has complained about the state of repair of the property. This is called a 'retaliatory eviction'.
This rule doesn't apply if the:
When will serving a section 21 notice be invalid
A section 21 notice will be invalid in the following circumstances (and a claim for possession is unlikely to succeed).
You can't serve a section 21 notice on the tenant within 6 months of your local housing authority serving one (or more) of the following notices on you under sections of the Housing Act 2004:
If operation of one (or more) of these notices has been suspended, you can't serve a section 21 notice within 6 months of the date that the suspension ends.
You can't serve a section 21 notice if the tenant had already made a complaint in writing about the condition of the property to you (or your agent) before you served the section 21 notice, and:
The requirement for the tenant's complaint to be in writing to you (or your agent) doesn't apply if they don't have your postal address or email address, or where the tenant has made reasonable efforts to contact you (or your agent) but has been unable to do so.
Tenancies starting before 1 October 2015
You can serve a section 21 notice on the tenants any time after the tenancy has started. However, you can't serve a section 21 notice before the tenancy commences or it will be invalid.
You would not be entitled to start a claim for possession within the first 6 months of a new tenancy, or within 6 months of the start of the original tenancy where there is a replacement tenancy. A replacement tenancy is one that replaces another tenancy for the same property between the same landlord and tenants.
Tenancies starting on or after 1 October 2015
You can't serve a section 21 notice within the first 4 months of a fixed-term or contractual periodic tenancy (or for a replacement tenancy, within 4 months of the start of the original tenancy).
You would not be entitled to start a claim for possession within the first 6 months of a new tenancy, or within 6 months of the start of the original tenancy where there is a replacement tenancy. A replacement tenancy is one that replaces another tenancy for the same property between the same landlord and tenants.
The length of notice you must give depends on the type of tenancy (fixed-term, contractual periodic or statutory periodic) and when the tenancy started.
These are minimum notice periods. If you're able to give the tenant longer notice, the risk of a dispute is likely to be reduced.
You must give a minimum of 2 months' notice. The 2-month period starts on the day after the notice is served. For example, a fixed-term tenancy is due to end on 25 July and you want the tenancy to end on that date: the latest date that a notice could be personally served on the tenant is 25 May.
You can choose to end the tenancy on the date the fixed term is due to end. Or you can serve a notice during the fixed term, to expire after the fixed term has ended. You can't end the tenancy before the end of the fixed term unless there is a break clause that allows you to.
If you are sending the section 21 notice by 1st Class post, you must allow at least 2 extra working days for delivery time on top of the notice period.
You must give a minimum of 2 months' notice. The 2-month period starts on the day after the notice is served. For example, if you want the tenancy to end on 25 July, the latest date that a notice could be personally served on the tenant is 25 May.
The notice doesn't need to end on the last day of the period (e.g. a month if the rent is paid monthly). If the section 21 notice ends in the middle of a rental period, the rent should be apportioned for that period. The tenant must be repaid rent they paid in advance for the period after they have left the property.
The notice can end on the last day but can also end on any day after the last day of the tenancy period. However, a complete period's notice must still be given.
For a monthly (or more frequent) tenancy, you only need to give 2 months' notice as this will be longer than one full rental period. If the section 21 notice ends in the middle of a rental month, you should apportion the rent and repay to the tenant the rent paid in advance for the period after they've left the property.
For a quarterly or six-monthly tenancy, the notice must cover a full period of the tenancy, but can end on or after the last day of that period. For example, for a quarterly tenancy, with quarters starting on 25 March, 24 June, 29 September and 25 December, any notice given, for example, after 25 December and before 25 March must expire on or after 23 June (as it doesn't have to expire only on the last day of the quarter). For a yearly tenancy the notice must be at least 6 months and must expire on or after the last day of the tenancy period.
As a section 21 notice is a notice served under legislation (i.e. the Housing Act), it is called a 'statutory notice'.
If it is necessary for a landlord to start possession proceedings, they will be expected to provide to the court a copy of the section 21 notice that they have served. Therefore you should keep a copy of the section 21 notice as well as any proof that it has been sent to the tenants.
You must use a specific form to serve a section 21 notice.
If more than one tenant lives in the property, you should serve a copy of the section 21 notice on each of them. This isn't a legal requirement, but it's best practice to be able to show that each tenant was given the required length of notice.
If the tenancy agreement has a paragraph about serving notices
If the tenancy agreement says anything about serving notices, you must be sure that it also includes serving 'statutory' notices. Not all tenancy agreements state this specifically.
Some tenancy agreements include a paragraph stating that notices must be served using 'Section 196 of the Law of Property Act 1925'. It states that notices:
Again, it must also clearly state that this includes service of 'statutory' notices as well.
If statutory notices are mentioned, then you should serve the section 21 notice in the way set out in the tenancy agreement. If the tenancy agreement allows you to service by fax or email, this isn't recommended as it is harder to prove that the tenant received the notice.
If the tenancy agreement contains a paragraph about how to serve notices, but it is unclear whether it applies to statutory notices, you should seek legal advice. Otherwise, if the correct procedure is not followed the section 21 notice could be served incorrectly and be invalid.
If the tenancy agreement doesn't have a paragraph about serving notices
If the tenancy agreement doesn't say how notices must be serviced you can serve the notice personally or by post.
The best way to serve the notice is by personally serving it on the tenant. You should include a covering letter, and serve each tenant with a copy of the notice. You're recommended to print an extra copy of the notice for each tenant to sign and date to keep for your records.
Otherwise, you must serve the notice by post, making sure that it and any covering letter is properly addressed to the tenant and pre-paid. Since you will have to prove that it was delivered, you are recommended to use Recorded Signed For or Special Delivery. If you use ordinary post, you should obtain a receipt of posting from the postal service and follow it up by contacting the tenant to confirm receipt.
If the tenant doesn't move out of the property by the end of the notice period stated in the section 21 notice, you can apply to the county court for an order for possession. This is called making a claim for possession.
You must apply to the county court in the area where the property is located. To find the address of the court, use the HMCTS Court Finder.
You will not be given a possession order within the first 6 months of a new tenancy, or 6 months of the start of the original tenancy where the current tenancy is a replacement tenancy, i.e. a tenancy for the same property between the same parties starting immediately after the original tenancy expires.
You must start a claim for possession within a certain time after serving a section 21 notice; if you don't, your section 21 notice will expire and you'll need to serve a fresh notice. You must apply to the courts:
You must send all required documents to the court, and a cheque for the court fee made payable to HMCTS. To find the amount of the court fee, see leaflet EX50 on The Court Service website.
You must send:
You must also send the following documents, if applicable:
You may need to pay stamp duty on the tenancy agreement before sending it to the court if the tenancy started before 1 December 2003.
The court will:
The tenant will have 14 days (from the date of service) to send a defence to the court (for example, to say why they oppose the claim or asking for a postponement of possession on the ground it would cause them exceptional hardship). The court can accept a defence if the tenant files it with the court after 14 days but before you ask the court for a possession order.
The court will send you either:
You'll have 3 months to fill in the form to ask the court to make a possession order. If you don't return the form to the court within 3 months, your claim will be put on hold.
When the court gets your request for a possession order, or the tenant's defence (opposing the claim for possession), the claim will be referred to a judge.
The judge can decide to make an order for absolute possession of the property; this means you won't need to attend a court hearing and the tenant must leave the property by a specified date (usually within 14 days from the date of the possession order).
If, however, the judge isn't satisfied that the claim form for possession of the property (form N5B) was served on the tenant or that you've properly established a right to possession, the judge may set a date for you to attend a court hearing (or even dismiss the claim).
If the tenant applies to postpone possession because of 'exceptional hardship' and the court accepts this, the court may give the tenant up to 6 weeks to leave the property (instead of the usual 14 days). If this happens, you (or your legal representative) can ask to attend a court hearing to raise objections to the tenant's application to postpone possession.
You must not evict the tenant yourself.
If the court makes an absolute order for possession and the tenant doesn't leave by the date stated in the possession order, you must:
The court will arrange for court bailiffs to evict the tenant on your behalf.
Be aware that if the tenant doesn't move out by the date stated in the possession order and you ask them to pay rent, the court could rule that a new tenancy has arisen. You may be entitled to be paid damages if they remain in possession without permission. You should seek legal advice in these circumstances.