Evicting a tenant for damage to the property

To evict a tenant for damage, you serve a Section 8 notice on Ground 13 (the property or common parts have deteriorated) and, for furnished lets, Ground 15 (damage to furniture), usually adding Ground 12 if a tenancy clause has been broken. Each ground needs only 2 weeks' notice. All three are discretionary, so the judge must decide that eviction is reasonable, and your evidence will decide the case.

Can you evict a tenant for damage? The grounds

Ground	What it covers	Type	Notice
Ground 13	The property or common parts have deteriorated through waste, neglect or default by the tenant or anyone living there	Discretionary	2 weeks
Ground 15	Furniture you provided has deteriorated through ill-treatment by the tenant or anyone living there	Discretionary	2 weeks
Ground 12	The tenant has broken a tenancy obligation other than paying rent, such as a duty to keep the property clean or report repairs	Discretionary	2 weeks

Where a lodger or sub-tenant caused the damage, Grounds 13 and 15 apply if the tenant failed to take reasonable steps to remove them. If damage comes with nuisance to neighbours, add Ground 14, which has no minimum notice period.

Notice period and time limits

• 2 weeks' notice for Grounds 12, 13 and 15, counted from the day of service. If you add a ground with a longer period, the longest period sets the earliest court date.
• 12 months from service to start proceedings.
• You can give more than the minimum notice if you want to offer the tenant time to put things right.

Evidence the judge will expect

The judge has to be satisfied the damage happened, that the tenant (or someone living there) caused it, and that eviction is a reasonable response. Build your file:

1. The check-in inventory, signed if possible, with photos of the condition at the start.
2. Current photos or video, dated, showing the same rooms and items.
3. Repair quotes or invoices from contractors.
4. Inspection records, letters and messages raising the damage with the tenant, and their replies.
5. The tenancy clauses you rely on for Ground 12.
6. Witness statements, filed and served at least 2 days before the hearing.

Watch out: a judge will look at the cause. Deterioration that comes from disrepair you were responsible for isn't the tenant's waste, neglect or default, and the tenant may counterclaim for disrepair. Deal with your own repairs first and keep records.

How the court decides

On a discretionary ground the court can make an order only if it considers it reasonable, weighing the interests of you, the tenant and the public. It also has wide powers under section 9 of the Housing Act 1988: it can adjourn, suspend the order or postpone the possession date, and if it does, it must impose conditions unless that would cause exceptional hardship or be unreasonable.

Instead of an outright order, the court may make a suspended possession order, for example on condition that the tenant pays for repairs or allows access. If the tenant breaks a condition, you can apply for a warrant (on form N244 where the breach isn't about payments). Read possession orders for how each type works.

Timeline with real dates

For a notice on Grounds 12, 13 and 15 handed over in person:

1. Monday 2 November 2026: serve Form 3A and complete form N215.
2. Monday 16 November 2026: earliest court date. Issue the claim on paper (forms N5 and N119; Possession Claim Online is for arrears only).
3. 14 December 2026 to 11 January 2027: first hearing, at least 28 days after issue and normally within 8 weeks.
4. Around 11 January 2027: order at the median of 8.0 weeks from claim, whether outright or suspended.
5. Around 7 May 2027: repossession by bailiffs at the median of 24.6 weeks from claim, for cases that reach eviction.

The medians come from the Ministry of Justice's mortgage and landlord possession statistics for April to June 2026 (published 13 August 2026), private landlords' standard claims. The figures are provisional, and most of those claims rested on notices served before 1 May 2026. If the order is suspended, the timeline depends on whether the tenant keeps to the conditions.

Costs and recovering the cost of repairs

• Possession claim: £415.
• Warrant of possession: £152.
• Separate money claim for repair costs: the issue fee depends on the amount, for example £115 for a claim between £1,500.01 and £3,000, or £205 between £3,000.01 and £5,000.

You may be able to recover repair costs from the deposit through the scheme's process instead. See deposit deductions.

What to avoid

• Turning up repeatedly, or doing anything else aimed at pushing the tenant out before the court process ends. Treat any step like that as a harassment and illegal eviction risk: councils can impose penalties of up to £40,000. See illegal eviction.
• Relying on photos with no "before" comparison.
• Claiming for ordinary ageing of the property. Ground 13 is about deterioration caused by waste, neglect or default.
• Forgetting the deposit rules, which block the order on these grounds until you comply.

This guide covers England only. Wales (Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016), Scotland and Northern Ireland have different law.

What to do next

Gather the inventory and photos, then create your Section 8 notice on Grounds 12, 13 and 15. Our builder adds the official wording and an evidence checklist. When the notice period ends, see making a possession claim. For other reasons to end a tenancy, start from how to evict a tenant.