Possession claims: taking a tenant to court in England

A possession claim is the court case you bring when a tenant has not left after your Section 8 notice has run out. In England you file Form N5 and Form N119 at the county court, pay a £415 issue fee (the fee from 13 July 2026), and the court fixes a hearing. If the judge makes a possession order and the tenant still stays, county court bailiffs or High Court enforcement officers carry out the eviction.

Since 1 May 2026, private landlords can no longer serve section 21 notices, so every new claim is built on a Section 8 notice (Form 3A) and the grounds in it. This page covers private landlords in England. Wales (Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016), Scotland and Northern Ireland have different law.

How a possession claim works, step by step

1. Serve a valid Form 3A notice. The notice period depends on the grounds: 4 weeks for the rent arrears grounds (8, 10 and 11), up to 4 months for others such as selling or moving in.
2. Wait for the notice to end. You can issue from the day after the notice period ends. You must issue within 12 months of serving the notice (a breathing space can extend this).
3. Check your deposit. If you took one, it must be protected in an authorised scheme and the prescribed information given, or the court cannot make the order (Grounds 7A and 14 are the exceptions).
4. Complete N5 and N119. For arrears, attach a rent schedule covering up to the last 2 years with a running total.
5. File and pay. Post or email the paper claim to the county court, or use Possession Claim Online if the claim is for rent arrears only.
6. Hearing. The court fixes a date when it issues the claim: at least 28 days later and normally within 8 weeks. The tenant must be served at least 21 days before.
7. Order. The judge can make an outright or suspended possession order, add a money order for the arrears, adjourn, or dismiss the claim.
8. Enforcement. If the tenant doesn't leave by the date in the order, you apply for a warrant of possession and the bailiffs give at least 14 days' notice of the eviction.

Each stage has its own guide below. For what to do the day the notice runs out, read after the Section 8 notice expires.

Who files the claim: you

A landlord can bring and run a possession claim in person. The law treats a party acting for themselves as exempt from the rules that reserve court work to lawyers. A company landlord can also act without a lawyer, but its statement of truth must be signed by a senior officer, and an employee needs the court's permission to represent the company at a trial.

The statements of truth on N5 and N119 can only be signed by the claimant, a litigation friend, or the claimant's legal representative (a solicitor or other authorised litigator you have instructed). A letting agent or a document service cannot sign them for you.

That is how our court pack works. We prepare your N5, N119, rent schedule and filing guide from your answers. You check them, sign them, pay the court fee from your own account and file the claim yourself. We never submit anything to the court, log in to Possession Claim Online for you, or appear on any court form.

Which forms you need

The court forms were reissued for the Renters' Rights Act on 1 May 2026. Law firms warn that claims on the pre-May 2026 versions risk being returned unissued, so check the version code in the footer.

Form	What it is for	Who completes it
N5 (England), version 05.26	The claim form: who is claiming, the property, and the reason for possession	You, the landlord
N119, version 05.26	Particulars of claim for rented homes: tenancy, rent, arrears, notice, circumstances, orders sought	You
Rent schedule	Payments due and made, with a running total, for up to 2 years before issue	You
N215	Certificate of service, proving when and how a notice or court document was served	Whoever served it
N11R	The tenant's defence form, served with the claim	The tenant
N5B	Accelerated claim form, now only for old notices in the transitional rules	Rarely needed
N325 / N325A	Request for a warrant of possession, after the order	You

Paper claim or Possession Claim Online?

You can file on paper (N5 and N119 to the county court) or online through Possession Claim Online (PCOL). PCOL is only for claims based solely on rent arrears, seeking nothing but possession, arrears, interest and costs. It can't be used with Help with Fees or while the tenant is in a breathing space. Claims on grounds such as selling, moving in or breach of tenancy, and mixed-ground claims, go on paper.

The fee is the same either way. HMCTS opened a new digital possession service on 29 September 2026, but only for registered social landlords in a few courts. No date has been announced for private landlords.

Court fees for a possession claim

These are the main fees in force from 13 July 2026, taken from the official fee list. Some GOV.UK guide pages still showed older figures in October 2026.

Step	Fee from 13 July 2026
Possession claim, county court (paper or PCOL)	£415
Adding a claim for the rent arrears	No extra fee
Warrant of possession (N325 / N325A)	£152
Application to transfer to the High Court for enforcement	£126 without notice, £321 on notice
Writ of possession (High Court)	£82

The full table, including money claim and appeal fees, is on possession claim court fees. Help with Fees is available on paper with form EX160, but not through PCOL.

How long a possession claim takes

The latest official figures (Ministry of Justice, April to June 2026, provisional) give these medians for private landlords' standard claims. Most of those claims rested on notices served before the 1 May 2026 changes:

Stage	Median
Claim to possession order	8.0 weeks
Claim to warrant	13.3 weeks
Warrant to repossession by bailiffs	8.7 weeks
Claim to repossession	24.6 weeks (mean 33.6 weeks)

Add your notice period before the claim. For a Ground 8 arrears case, 4 weeks' notice, a week or two to prepare and the median 24.6 weeks comes to about 30 weeks, roughly 7 months. That is our estimate, not an official figure, and half of cases take longer. Defended claims and suspended orders take much longer. See the possession claim timeline for each stage.

What the court can order, and what comes after

At the possession hearing, the judge decides the claim or gives directions if it is genuinely disputed. The possible results are:

• Outright possession order: the tenant must leave by a set date.
• Suspended possession order: the tenant can stay while they keep to conditions, usually paying the rent plus an amount off the arrears.
• Money order: a judgment for the arrears, court fee and costs, with or without possession.
• Adjournment: the case is put off to another date.
• Dismissal: for example if the process wasn't followed, you don't attend, or the arrears have been paid.

On a mandatory ground, such as Ground 8, the court must order possession if the ground is proved. The date to leave is normally within 14 days, and no more than 6 weeks if the tenant would suffer exceptional hardship. On a discretionary ground, such as Ground 10 or 11, the court must also find it reasonable to make the order, and it can suspend or postpone it. Read possession orders for what each type means for you.

After the order: getting the property back

If the tenant hasn't left by the date in the order, you ask the court for a warrant of possession and the county court bailiffs book the eviction. Alternatively you can apply to transfer the case to the High Court for a writ, enforced by High Court enforcement officers.

Watch out: only court bailiffs or High Court enforcement officers can remove a tenant. Changing the locks yourself, or getting anyone else to do it, is illegal eviction. GOV.UK says landlords can be prosecuted or fined up to £40,000.

Why possession claims fail

These are the most common reasons claims fail, and all of them can be avoided:

• A defective notice: the wrong form (Form 3 instead of Form 3A), missing ground wording, a date that is too early, or a joint tenant left off. The court cannot dispense with notice for Ground 8.
• Issuing at the wrong time: before the notice period ends, or more than 12 months after service.
• Deposit problems: a deposit not protected, or prescribed information not given.
• Arrears below the Ground 8 threshold on the hearing day (3 months' rent if paid monthly, 13 weeks' if weekly or fortnightly).
• No proper rent schedule, or arrears not updated to the hearing date.
• Out-of-date court forms, or PCOL used for a non-arrears claim.
• You don't turn up, in which case the claim can be dismissed and costs awarded against you.
• Breathing space: serving an arrears notice or starting an arrears claim while the tenant is in one.

If the tenant files a defence or counterclaim, read if the tenant defends the possession claim.

When to use a solicitor instead

Our court pack suits straightforward cases where you know the facts and can prove them. Use a solicitor if the tenant has a real defence, raises disrepair, or disputes the notice; if the tenancy is a company let or a mixed-use property; or if a lot of money depends on the result.

What to do next

If your notice has expired and the tenant is still there, start the possession court pack: we fill in N5, N119 and the rent schedule from your answers, and you sign and file them yourself. If you haven't served a notice yet, begin with the Section 8 notice. To see your own dates, try the eviction timeline calculator.

More guides on possession proceedings:

• Claiming rent arrears in your possession claim
• Accelerated possession after section 21
• Form N215 certificate of service
• How to evict a tenant in England, the wider eviction guide
• Rent arrears: a step-by-step guide