Evicting tenants in England
Accelerated possession orders
You cannot usually apply to the court for an accelerated possession order, even if you gave your tenant a valid section 21 notice before 1 May 2026.
If you made a valid application to the court for an accelerated possession order on or before 31 July 2026, your application will be issued by the court.
When you can apply
You can apply for an accelerated possession order if you gave your tenant a valid possession notice before 1 May 2026. The notice must still have been valid at 11:59pm on 30 April 2026, and you must have given them either:
-
a Section 8 or Section 21 notice and applied to court before the notice expired or before 1 August 2026 (whichever was earlier) and the claim for possession has not ended
-
a Section 8 notice for rent arrears but you could not apply to court before 1 August 2026 because the tenant was previously in a ‘breathing space’ (debt respite scheme) arrangement
If your tenant was in a ‘breathing space arrangement’, you will have 8 weeks from the date the ‘breathing space’ arrangement ended to take your claim to court.
You can get legal advice if you’re unsure.
It costs £415 to apply.
How to apply
If you meet the criteria to apply for accelerated possession, download and fill in the form for properties in England.
Send the completed form to the nearest court that deals with housing possession.
What happens next
Once your application has been issued, the court will send your tenant a copy of the application.
Your tenant has 14 days to challenge the application, from the date they receive it.
A judge will decide either to:
- issue a possession order that states your tenant must leave the property (this is normally the case)
- have a court hearing (this usually only happens if the paperwork is not in order or your tenant raises an important issue)
Even if there’s a hearing, the court can still decide to issue a possession order.
If the judge makes a possession order, your tenant will normally have 14 days to leave the property. If this will cause ‘exceptional hardship’, the judge may give the tenant up to 42 days to leave.
If your tenant does not leave, you can apply to the court for a warrant of possession. This will allow the court bailiffs to evict your tenant.