Eviction FAQs.

The Eviction Process – Your Questions Answered

If you’re a landlord who has a tenant approaching the end of their agreement and would like to repossess the property, or would like to remove a tenant before the end of their agreement, this page will provide you with all the information you need on the eviction process.

General Eviction Questions

Q: How do I start an eviction?

A: The very first step of the eviction process is to determine which type of tenancy agreement your tenant holds. In the UK, the most common type of tenancy is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST). To qualify as an AST the tenancy must:

• Have began on (or after) the 15th of January 1989
• Not be the landlords permanent residence
• Be privately rented
• Be the tenant’s sole accommodation

If you are looking to evict a tenant under a tenancy agreement other than an AST (for example, an excluded tenancy or license, or an assured or regulated tenancy) please go to the ‘Tenancies other than ASTs’ section as these follow different procedures.

Once you have determined the type of tenancy agreement, you need to then carefully draft and serve an eviction notice to the tenant. If you do not wish to do this yourself, you can request specialist legal advice or if your property is managed by a letting agency, they will likely be able to draft the notice for you – although they are not legally trained so may not be able to offer the same level of service and advice we can. 

Q: What type of notice do I need to serve?

A: A Section 21 notice is the most common way to end an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) agreement and is often referred to as a ‘no fault’ notice as you do not need to provide a tenant with a reason for the notice. A Section 21 notice will only be applicable to fixed term or open-ended tenancies and informs the tenant(s) you wish to repossess the property at the end of the tenancy or using an agreed break clause (if one exists in the contract).

You cannot serve a Section 21 notice if:

• It is less than 4 months since the tenancy began
• The tenants’ deposit is not protected in a deposit scheme
• The council has ordered you to undertake repairs

Visit our blog for more information on Section 21 notices.

A Section 8 notice applies to assured shorthold tenancy (AST) agreements and outlines the landlords intention to terminate a tenancy early and repossess the property from the tenant(s). A Section 8 notice normally involves some breach in the tenancy agreement, anti-social behaviour, or a failure to pay rent. A Section 8 notice can be served at any point during the tenancy.

Visit our blog for more information on Section 8 notices.

If you’re unsure, an eviction solicitor will be able to provide legal advice to help you decide which eviction notice you need.

Q: What is the required notice?

A: This will depend on the type of notice you’re serving. In relation to Section 21 notices, you must provide the tenant with at least 2 months notice.

Required notice for Section 8 notices will depend on the grounds given for eviction, which can be either mandatory (judge must award possession if ground met) or discretionary, a full list of these ground can be found on our Section 8 page. The notice will range between 2 weeks and 2 months, depending on which grounds are used.

Q: Can Section 8 and Section 21 notices be served simultaneously?

Yes and in some cases this is advisable. For example, a tenant may be in 2 months (or 8 weeks) rent arrears and therefore served a Section 8 notice. Even if the tenant settles the rent arrears, the landlord may still want to repossess the property, and therefore they can simultaneously serve a Section 21 notice to repossess the property after the tenancy ends.

Q: How long does the eviction process take?

A: It’s very difficult to put an exact timeframe regarding the eviction process as it will depend on many factors. A rough estimate may be possible depending on the situation.

On average, an eviction takes around 6 weeks; however, in some cases it can take as long as 6 months.

Q: I’ve served the eviction notice, is it possible to speed up the eviction process?

A: No. It’s incredibly important to avoid any potential harassment against the tenant, even if they’re refusing to vacate the property as this is considered a crime and could result in criminal sanctions.

Q: I own an HMO and want to evict all the tenants. How do I do this?

A: Whilst it is sometimes assumed easier to evict tenants from an HMO, most tenant’s living in HMOs have ASTs and therefore require standard procedure to be evicted. Therefore, it is possible to serve each tenant with a Section 21 notice or each tenant with a Section 8 notice, given either mandatory or discretionary grounds are met.

It’s important to note that a landlord must hold a valid HMO license to serve a Section 21 notice to the tenant(s). It’s advisable to seek legal advice before starting the eviction process involving an HMO – contact our team via 0203 007 5500 or [email protected].

Q: What happens if I rent my property out as social housing through the council?

A: If you rent your property out as social housing through the council, the eviction process will follow a slightly different procedure. You must first notify the council that you wish to terminate your contract with them, they will then serve the tenant(s) an eviction notice, most likely a Section 21 notice.

Q: What is mediation?

A: Mediation involves a third party assisting the landlord and tenant(s) to come to a mutually agreeable situation. This can be a quicker and cheaper alternative to the court possession process and leaves the tenant and landlord, rather than the court, in charge.

Q: What documents do I need to serve an eviction notice?

A: The documents required for an eviction will differ depending on the type of notice you are serving.

To serve a valid Section 21 notice you must have protected the tenant’s deposit under 1 of the 3 government schemes. If the tenant’s deposit is not protected under 1 of the 3 government schemes, you must have returned their deposit. You must also have provided the tenant(s) with a valid and up to date copy of the:

• Gas safety certificate
• Energy performance certificate
• ‘How to Rent: The Checklist for Renting in England’ government produced guide
• Property’s valid HMO license (if required)
• Property’s valid selective license (if required)

You will need evidence that these documents have been served on the tenant so if you require legal advice on an eviction involving a Section 21 notice, please send us copies of any correspondence to [email protected].

The notice itself must be served on Form 6A. It is also advisable to keep proof after delivering a Section 21 notice by filling in an N215 Form.

A Section 8 notice does not require any accompanying documents to have been provided. The notice itself must be produced on ‘Form 3: Notice seeking possession of a property let on an assured tenancy or an assured agricultural occupancy’. To ensure the form is valid, it must include:

• The tenants’ name
• The property address
• The reason for the eviction
• The date by which court proceedings will start if the tenant does not leave

Q: What if I don’t have the required documents to serve a Section 21 notice?

A: If you do not have the required documents (listed in the above section), you cannot serve a valid Section 21 notice. If you can source the documents and provide them to the tenant, you can then serve the notice. Otherwise, you may be able to serve a Section 8 notice if there is some fault on the tenant’s side.

Q: Can I serve an eviction notice by email?

A: A notice can be served by email if this if it is permitted in your tenancy agreement.

If this is something that is permitted in your tenancy agreement, and you wish to serve a tenant a notice by email, make sure it is to the correct email address and that the tenant has properly received the notice.

Q: Do I need a reason to evict a tenant?

A: This depends on the type of notice you are issuing. If the tenant is approaching the end of their tenancy or their tenancy is open-ended and you are serving a Section 21 notice, no reason is necessary to serve an eviction notice.

If you are wanting to terminate a tenancy early with a Section 8 notice, you will need a valid reason to evict the tenant. Some common reasons for serving a Section 8 notice are in the following section.

Q: What reasons can I give to evict a tenant?

A: There are various valid reasons to serve a tenant a Section 8 notice, below are the 8 most commonly given:

• Rent arrears – if a tenant fails to pay their rent for more than 8 weeks (or 2 months)
• Consistent late rental payments
• Mortgage lender is repossessing the property
• Breach of tenancy agreement – this can be anything from smoking, pets, or subletting
• Anti-social or illegal behaviour
• Required repairs, property is no longer habitable, or landlord wants to develop
• Damage to property
• Tenant obtained property under false pretences – fake references etc

For a full list of the 17 grounds, see our landlord and tentant page on Section 8 notices.

Q: Can you use multiple grounds to evict a tenant under a Section 8 notice?

Yes, a landlord can use multiple grounds under a Section 8 notice. For example, a tenant may be in rent arrears and have damaged the property.

Q: What if a tenant does not respond to the notice?

A: If a tenant has not responded to an eviction notice, the first thing you need to do is ensure the delivery of the notice was successful; and that all the information on the notice is correct. If the notice did not arrive or the information is not correct, a new notice will need to be served.

You do not necessarily need to confirm that the tenant is aware of the eviction notice but merely that the notice was successfully served – this will depend on the tenancy agreement. Most tenancy agreements will state that a notice will be ‘deemed served‘ if delivered in an approved manner. These will generally be:

• Leaving it at the property
• Sending the notice by recorded delivery
• Sending the notice by first class post

If the tenant is not responding, it’s time to start a court eviction process. If you have served the tenant a Section 21 notice, the court will automatically rule in your favour and bailiffs will evict the tenant.

If instead you have served them a Section 8 notice, the tenant will have a chance to put forward their case in court. If they do not show up to the court hearing, the court will automatically rule in your favour.

Q: The tenant is refusing to vacate the property after receiving a notice, is this legal?

A: Just because you have served your tenant with an eviction notice, this doesn’t automatically mean they’ll vacate, or must vacate, the property by the date you requested. If a tenant feels they have grounds to contest the eviction, they can ignore the eviction date and refuse to vacate the property, opting instead to take it to court.

In this case, you will have to issue a possession claim, of which there are two types:

• An accelerated possession claim refers to when there is no rent owed, or the landlord is willing to waive any rent owed, by the tenant(s) and is common with Section 21 notices
• A standard possession claim refers to when the tenant has outstanding costs (such as rent arrears) and are more common with Section 8 notices

Q: I am not sure if my tenant is still in the property – do I still need to serve an eviction notice?

A: If you are unsure if your tenant is still in the property, it’s best to serve a Section 21 notice – so long as all the requirements are met. For example, they have been in the property a minimum of 4 months and the notice provides 2 months’ notice.

It may be possible to serve a Section 8 notice if some of the grounds are met however this is unlikely to be necessary if the tenant no longer is in the property.

Eviction and Finances

Q: Can I recover the unpaid rent?

Recovering rent arrears will depend on the situation. If a tenant does not have any money to pay you currently or is withholding rent, there there are some steps you can take:

• Determine how many tenants are liable
• Contact guarantors to see if they will pay the debt
• File a county court judgement (CCJ) – this will order the tenant to pay an amount up to £3,000 and will remain on their record and even if they don’t pay straight away, the issues it causes further down the line may force them to pay eventually. CCJ’s will apply for 6 years
• If the amount is over £3,000 or you require payment sooner, you can file a claim in the High Court
• Both the CCJ and High Court judgement will authorise bailiffs to recover the amount

Recovering rent arrears or damages can be incredibly complex and difficult, if you require legal advice contact us on or 0203 007 5500 or [email protected].

Q: My tenant is on housing benefits but owes rent, is there anything I can do?

If your tenant owes you rent but claims either universal credit or housing benefits, it may be possible to request ‘managed payments’.

This allows the money to come directly to you and may mean you no longer have to evict the tenant.

Q: What do I do if my tenant has not left by the eviction date?

If your tenant has not vacated the property by the date set out in the eviction notice and they do not owe you rent, or you do not wish to recover any unpaid rent, you will need to apply for an accelerated possession claim.

If your tenant has not vacated the property by the date set out in the eviction notice and they still owe you rent that you wish to recover, you will need to apply for a standard possession order.

Q: How much will it cost to evict a tenant?

A: The cost to evict a tenant will vary depending on:

• How willing the tenant is to vacate the property
• Whether there are disagreements over the eviction reasons or process
• Whether there are damages or outstanding rent arrears
• How much court intervention is required

If you require advice on the costs of a specific eviction case, contact us on 0203 007 5500 or [email protected].

Q: Can I recover any of the legal costs incurred for eviction from the tenant(s)?

Generally speaking, the landlord will be responsible for covering court costs and legal fees in an eviction case. However, they may be able to claim these back in certain circumstances. For example, if:

• A clause existed in the tenancy agreement stating the tenant would have to cover legal fees in the event of an eviction
• The tenant(s) behaved unreasonably and in doing so, added to the landlords’ costs
• A judge awards costs on top of the possession order
• The tenant(s) displays unreasonable or uncooperative behaviour throughout the court process

Any costs awarded by the courts will only cover fixed fees and not the full cost of the legal proceedings – recovery of the full extent of fees can only happen if a clause existed in the tenancy agreement.

Recovering legal costs can be complex and difficult, if you require legal advice contact us on or 0203 007 5500 or [email protected].

Q: What if a tenant damages my property before they leave?

A: If your tenant damages the property before or during the eviction process, there are multiple avenues you can take. If one exists, you can claim the damages out of the tenant’s security deposit. In this case you will need to prove the tenant caused the damage and this may be difficult without evidence – for example, pictures of the prior condition of the property or an inventory.

If the damages exceed the value of the security deposit, you can apply to the small claims court.

If you require legal advice on damages, contact our team via 0203 007 5500 or [email protected].

Q: Can a tenant request damages – for example, for loss of work during the eviction process?

A: Compensation to the tenant will depend on a variety of factors. For example, why they are being evicted; if a tenant is being evicted due to necessary repairs or redevelopment they are possibly entitled to home-loss or disturbance payments (such as to cover moving costs).

Tenants may otherwise seek compensation for distress, inconvenience, or financial losses due to the eviction process.

You may also wish to provide a good-will compensation payment to a tenant, this may aid the eviction process and save you money in legal fees further down the line.

Q: What happens if I forgot to protect my tenant’s deposit?

A: Forgetting to protect a tenants’ deposit carries potentially severe consequences. If you forgot to protect a deposit, you are no longer able to serve the tenant(s) with a Section 21 notice as the unprotected deposit will invalidate the notice.

You may still be able to recover possession through a Section 8 notice, however the lack of deposit protection greatly complicates this process. The tenant(s) may claim against the landlord and is possibly entitled to a sum of up to 3 times the value of the deposit. If, for example, the grounds for the Section 8 claim are rent arrears, this sum could cover the cost of these and greatly weaken, if not completely derail, the landlord’s claim.

If you are in this situation, the first step is to repay the tenant(s) deposit. Following this you will be able to serve a valid Section 21 notice and follow standard procedure. You may still face sanctions for the lack of deposit protection; however these are likely to be less severe.