Form N5: claim for possession explained

The N5 form is the claim form a landlord files at the county court to ask for a possession order. For property in England you need the "N5 (England)" version 05.26, filed with Form N119 and the £415 issue fee in force from 13 July 2026. You sign it and file it yourself: only you, a litigation friend or your legal representative can sign its statement of truth.

This page covers private landlords in England. Property in Wales uses a separate Welsh version of N5, and Welsh tenancy law is different.

What is the N5 form?

N5 is titled "Claim form for possession of property located in England". It is the front sheet of a possession claim: it says who is claiming, against whom, for which property and why. The detail sits in the N119 particulars of claim, which you file with it.

The forms were reissued for the Renters' Rights Act on 1 May 2026, when the old N5 was split into separate England and Wales versions. GOV.UK clarified the eligibility wording on 18 May 2026. The current England file is named N5_ENGLAND_0526_save.pdf, and the footer shows "(05.26)". Law firms have warned that claims on the pre-May 2026 forms risk being sent back unissued, so download a fresh copy rather than reusing an old one.

When you can file the N5

You can only file once your Section 8 notice has run its course. Check three things first:

1. The notice period has ended. The earliest date is the one in question 2.1 of your Form 3A. Issue on or after that date, never before.
2. You are within 12 months of service. The claim must start no later than 12 months after you served the notice, unless a breathing space extended it.
3. Your deposit is in order. If you took a deposit, the court can only make a possession order if it was protected and the prescribed information was given, or the deposit has been returned. Grounds 7A and 14 are the exceptions.

New claims by private landlords use N5 and N119. The accelerated form, N5B, is now limited to a few old notices; see accelerated possession after section 21.

What goes in each part of N5

Besides your details, the tenant's details and the property address, the part that matters most is section 3, which explains why you want possession.

Section 3.1: the reason for the claim

Section 3.1 has tick boxes. Tick the ones that match the grounds in your notice:

Your situation	Box in section 3.1	Typical Section 8 grounds
The tenant owes rent	Rent arrears (online issue available)	8, 10, 11
The tenant has broken the tenancy in another way	Other breach of tenancy	12, 13, 15
You or a family member want to move in	The landlord or one of their family members want to move in	1
You want to sell	The landlord wants to sell the property	1A
The tenant died and the tenancy passed by will or intestacy	The former tenant died and the tenancy was passed on through will or intestacy	7
Any other reason	Other (please specify)	For example 6 or 7B

The other boxes (forfeiture, mortgage arrears, other breach of mortgage, trespass) are for other kinds of claim.

Sections 3.2 to 3.5: flags for the court

• 3.2 flags antisocial behaviour or unlawful use of the property, relevant to Grounds 7A and 14.
• 3.3 (demotion) and 3.4 (suspending the right to buy) are for social landlords.
• 3.5 asks whether the claim raises any Human Rights Act issues.

The money claim and the statement of truth

N5 includes a box to claim money as well as possession. If the tenant owes rent, use it. There is no extra fee for adding the arrears. The form ends with a statement of truth and asks for the signer's "position or office held" where the claimant is a company.

Who can sign the N5

The statement of truth can only be signed by:

• you, the claimant (for a company landlord, a senior officer);
• a litigation friend, for a claimant who needs one; or
• your legal representative, meaning a solicitor or other authorised litigator you have instructed.

A letting agent who isn't your legal representative cannot sign it, and neither can a document-preparation service. Our court pack fills in N5 from your answers. You check it, sign it, pay the court fee and file the claim yourself. We never submit anything to the court for you.

How to file the N5 and pay the fee

You have two routes:

• Paper: send N5, N119 and the fee (or a Help with Fees application on form EX160) by post or email to the county court that deals with housing possession. Under CPR 55.3 you can start at any county court hearing centre, and the claim is sent to the centre serving the property's address.
• Online: if the claim is for rent arrears only, you can use Possession Claim Online instead. You type the details into PCOL rather than uploading an N5.

The issue fee is £415 either way, from 13 July 2026. See possession claim court fees for the rest.

What to send with it:

• Form N119, with a rent schedule if you claim arrears.
• Supporting documents. Landlords commonly attach the tenancy agreement, the Form 3A notice, proof of service and the deposit certificate and prescribed information. The rules don't list these as compulsory for paper claims, but GOV.UK says you must prove deposit compliance at the hearing if you took a deposit.

When the court issues the claim, it fixes the hearing date. The hearing is at least 28 days after issue and normally no more than 8 weeks, and the tenant must be served at least 21 days before it.

Common N5 mistakes

• Using an old form saved before May 2026, or the Welsh version for a property in England.
• Ticking a reason that doesn't match the notice. The court can't order possession on a ground that wasn't in your notice unless it gives permission to add it.
• Issuing too early, before the date in Form 3A question 2.1.
• Letting someone else sign the statement of truth.
• Forgetting the money claim when the tenant owes rent.
• Using PCOL for a non-arrears claim, or a mixed-ground claim.
• Not having deposit evidence ready for the hearing.

For the bigger picture of the court stage, go back to possession claims.

What to do next

If your notice has expired and the tenant hasn't left, the possession court pack prepares N5, N119 and a rent schedule from your answers, with a filing guide, for you to sign and file. Then read Form N119 to see what the particulars need to say, and the possession claim timeline for what happens next.