Private renting for tenants: evictions in England
Printable version
1. Rules your landlord must follow
Your landlord must follow strict procedures if they want you to leave their property, depending on the type of tenancy agreement you have and the terms of it.
If they do not, they may be guilty of illegally evicting or harassing you.
If you live in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales, your landlord must follow different procedures to evict you:
Get help if someone wants you to leave your home
You can get free legal advice from the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service if you receive a written notice that someone wants you to leave your home. This may help you to keep your home.
Rules for periodic Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs)
Periodic tenancies run on a week-by-week or month-by-month basis with no fixed end date.
If you have one of these, your landlord must usually give you notice that they want the property back (‘notice to quit’) - they must do this in a certain way depending on your type of tenancy agreement and its terms.
If you do not leave at the end of the notice period
If you do not leave at the end of the notice period, your landlord must apply to the court for a possession order. If the court gives them a possession order and you still do not leave, they must apply for a warrant for possession - this means bailiffs can evict you from the property.
Rules for fixed-term ASTs
Fixed-term tenancies run for a set amount of time. Your landlord must give you notice in a certain way if you’re in a fixed-term tenancy.
If you do not leave at the end of the notice period
If you refuse to leave at the end of the notice period, the rules depend on whether the fixed term has ended or not.
Eviction during the fixed term
During the fixed term, your landlord can only evict you for certain reasons - for example:
- you have not paid the rent
- you’re engaging in antisocial behaviour
- there’s a ‘break clause’ in your contract - this allows your landlord to take back the property before the end of the fixed term
A possession order will not take effect until you’ve been living in the property for at least 6 months.
Eviction at the end of the fixed term
At the end of the fixed term, the landlord does not need a reason to evict you. As long as they’ve given you correct notice, they can apply to the court for a possession order.
If the court gives your landlord a possession order and you still do not leave, your landlord must apply for a warrant for possession - this means bailiffs can evict you from the property.
Rules for excluded tenancies or licences
If you have an excluded tenancy or licence (for example you live with your landlord), your landlord does not have to go to court to evict you.
Your landlord only needs to give you ‘reasonable notice’ to quit. The notice does not have to be in writing.
There are no set rules about what’s reasonable. It depends on:
- how long you’ve been living there
- how often you pay the rent
- whether you get on with your landlord
- how quickly the landlord needs another person to move in
They can then change the locks on your rooms, even if you’ve left your belongings there. However, they must give your belongings back to you.
If you do not think you’ve been given enough warning to leave, contact your local council for advice. Your council can take action if your landlord has evicted you illegally.
Shelter has more information about eviction of excluded occupiers.
Rules for assured and regulated tenancies
If your tenancy started before 27 February 1997, you might have an assured or a regulated tenancy. Your landlord will have to follow different rules to evict you and you’ll have increased protection from eviction.
Shelter has more information about assured tenancies and regulated tenancies.
2. Accelerated possession
Landlords can sometimes evict tenants using ‘accelerated possession’. This is quicker than a normal eviction and does not usually need a court hearing.
Your landlord can only do this if:
- you have an assured shorthold tenancy or a statutory periodic tenancy
- you have a written tenancy agreement
- they’ve given you the required written notice in the right form
- they have not asked you to leave before the end of a fixed-term tenancy
You can only stop accelerated possession if you can prove your landlord has not followed the rules listed above. You can get free legal advice through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
How it works
If your landlord applies for accelerated possession, the court will send you:
- a copy of your landlord’s application
- a ‘defence form’
Fill in the defence form to challenge the application or write a statement outlining your circumstances.
You can get help filling in the defence form from the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
You must complete and return the defence form or statement to the court within 14 days of receiving it.
If your landlord applied for possession before 3 August 2020
If your landlord wants to continue with their claim for possession they must make another application to the court. You will get a copy of your landlord’s application and instructions from the court on how to challenge the application.
The judge’s decision
A judge will decide whether to:
- issue a possession order, giving your landlord the right to evict you and take possession of the property (this is normally the case)
- have a court hearing (this usually only happens if the paperwork is not in order or you’ve raised an important issue)
Even if there’s a hearing, the court can still decide to issue a possession order.
If the judge issues a possession order
If the judge makes a possession order, you’ll normally have 14 or 28 days to leave the property. If this will cause you exceptional hardship, the judge may give you up to 42 days to leave.
If you do not leave at this point, your landlord can use bailiffs to evict you.
3. Eviction court hearings
If your landlord goes to court to evict you, there will be a ‘possession hearing’.
Before the hearing
You’ll know your landlord is taking you to court to evict you because you’ll be sent court papers, including:
- copies of ‘claim for possession’ forms
- a defence form
- a date for your court hearing
The defence form is your chance to say why you have rent arrears and if you disagree with what your landlord put on the ‘claim for possession’ forms. You need to return it within 14 days.
You may have to pay extra court fees if you do not provide information in the defence form and this results in a delay to your court case.
If you do not attend your court hearing, it’s very likely the judge will decide you’ll lose your home.
During the hearing
If you have not received advice before, you can get free legal advice and representation in court on the day of the hearing. This is under the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service. For more information, contact the court where your case is being heard or the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
If the service is not available in your area, check with the court whether there are other advice services.
You can also check if you can get legal aid.
The charity Shelter has information on what happens at a possession hearing.
The judge’s decision
The judge could:
- dismiss the court case - no order will be made and the hearing is finished
- adjourn the hearing - the hearing will be delayed until later, as the judge feels a decision cannot be made on the day
- make an ‘order’ - the judge will make a legal decision on what will happen
The judge will dismiss the case if there’s no reason you should be evicted. This might happen if:
- your landlord has not followed the correct procedure
- your landlord or their representative does not attend the hearing
- you’ve paid any rent arrears
If the judge dismisses the case, you can stay in your home. If the landlord wants to evict you, they’ll have to restart the court process from the beginning.
Types of possession order
There are several different kinds of orders a judge can make.
Order for possession (or ‘outright possession order’)
This means you must leave the property before the date given in the order.
The date will be either 14 or 28 days after your court hearing. If you’re in an exceptionally difficult situation, you may be able to convince the judge to delay this for up to 6 weeks.
If you do not leave your home by the date given, your landlord can ask the court to evict you by asking for a ‘warrant for possession’. If the court gives a warrant, you’ll be sent an eviction notice that gives a date when you must leave your home.
Suspended order for possession
This means if you make the payments, or obey the conditions, set out in the order, you can stay in your home. If you do not make the payments, your landlord can ask the court to evict you.
Money order
This means you have to pay the landlord the amount set out in the order. If you do not make the payments, action could be taken by the courts to recover the money, including:
- deducting money from your wages or bank account
- sending bailiffs to take away things you own
If you get into rent arrears after a money order has been made, your landlord can go to court again and ask for a possession order.
Possession orders with a money judgment
A judge can add a money judgment to any of the possession orders. This means you owe a specific amount of money, usually made up of:
- your rent arrears
- court fees
- your landlord’s legal costs
The money judgment will not apply if you pay your arrears and the amount set out in a suspended possession order.
However, the money judgment will apply if you do not pay the amount set out in the suspended possession order that’s linked to the judgment. If you do not pay, the landlord may ask the court to carry out the instructions in the order and the judgment.
4. Eviction notices
If you do not leave your home by the date given in an outright possession order, your landlord can ask the court for a ‘warrant of possession’.
If the court gives a warrant, you’ll be sent an eviction notice that gives a date when you must leave your home. Bailiffs can evict you after this date. The costs of evicting you will be added to the money you owe.
Delaying eviction
You can ask a judge to suspend the warrant at a new hearing. This means they’ll delay the eviction or let you stay in your home if you can make payments again.
The judge will not automatically agree to suspend the warrant.
Applying to suspend a warrant
To apply for a suspension of a warrant, you must fill out an application notice and either send or deliver it to the county court dealing with your case.
You must tell the court you need a hearing at short notice (before your eviction date). You’ll have to pay a court fee of £15, unless you qualify for help.
Pay the county court:
- by phone with a debit or credit card
- by post with a cheque or postal order made out to ‘HM Courts and Tribunals Service’
- in person with cash or a debit or credit card
You can find the address and phone number for the county court online.
Asking the court to change your payments
If your circumstances change, you can ask a judge at a new hearing to change what you pay. To do this, you must fill out an application notice and either send or deliver it to the county court dealing with your case.
You’ll have to pay a court fee of £119, unless you qualify for help.
Pay the county court:
- in person by cheque, cash, debit or credit card
- by post with a cheque made out to ‘HM Courts and Tribunals Service’
Appealing against the decision
You can only appeal if you can show the judge made mistakes in the original possession hearing. You’ll need to ask the judge for permission to appeal at the end of the original hearing.
If you get permission to appeal, you’ll have to apply for an appeal hearing very soon afterwards. You’ll have to pay a court fee of £166, unless you qualify for help.
You’ll need to get legal advice.
Contact your local council
If you’re worried about becoming homeless, contact your local council for homelessness help and advice.
5. Harassment and illegal evictions
It’s a crime for your landlord to harass you or try to force you out of a property without using proper procedures. If this happens, you may have a right to claim damages through the court.
What is harassment?
Harassment can be anything a landlord does, or fails to do, that makes you feel unsafe in the property or forces you to leave.
Harassment can include:
- stopping services, like electricity
- withholding keys, for example there are 2 tenants in a property but the landlord will only give 1 key
- refusing to carry out repairs
- anti-social behaviour by a landlord’s agent, for example a friend of the landlord moves in next door and causes problems
- threats and physical violence
Illegal eviction and tenants’ rights
Your landlord may be guilty of illegal eviction if you:
- are not given the notice to leave the property that your landlord must give you
- find the locks have been changed
- are evicted without a court order
Even if your landlord’s property is repossessed by their mortgage lender, the lender must give you notice so you can find other accommodation.
Citizens Advice has information on repossession by your landlord’s mortgage lender.
What you can do
If you think you’re being harassed or threatened with illegal eviction, or the property you rent is being repossessed, talk to your local council.
It may have someone specialising in tenant harassment issues.
Local councils can also start legal proceedings if they think there’s enough evidence of harassment or illegal eviction.
You could also contact:
Your local area may also have other housing or legal advice organisations - your local council, phonebook or library should have details.
If physical violence is involved, contact the police.
For further advice, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has a detailed guide for tenants facing harassment and illegal eviction.