Possession guidance for tenants in social housing
Guidance for social tenants to explain the process landlords must take when they want to get their property back in England.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
This social tenant guidance is to help tenants who have been served with a possession notice. This is your landlord’s first step to get their property back which is also known as taking possession. It provides detailed information about each stage of the process including what happens when the case goes to court.
If you are a tenant renting out a private property and your notice was given to you on or after 1 May 2026, read the tenant’s guidance on notices served after the 1 May 2026.
If you are a tenant renting out a private property and your notice was given to you before 1 May 2026, read the tenant’s guidance on notices served before the 1 May 2026.
There is separate possession guidance if you are a landlord renting out a private property and you gave notice before 1 May 2026.
If you are a landlord renting out a private property and you served the notice to your tenant on and after 1 May 2026, read the landlord’s guidance on repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026.
Updates to this page
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Landlord content is not available so this page has been updated for social housing tenants only.
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Reference to how to rent guide has been removed as it will no longer need to be given to tenants.
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Updated to reflect new fees from 8 April 2025.
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Social rented tenant guidance updated to reflect the launch of the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
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Updated the private landlord and private tenant guidance to clarify that form 6A, or a document setting out the same information as required on that form, must be provided to serve a notice under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. Inclusion of a new link in the private landlord guidance to provide further information about the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, and minor amendments to improve clarity and remove information which is out of date.
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Private landlord and tenant guidance updated to reflect the launch of the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
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Guidance updated to remove references to arrangements which were in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to make the pages England-only following the introduction of new housing law in Wales (The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016). The social landlord guidance, which focussed on the additional COVID-19 arrangements, has been withdrawn.
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Guidance updated to reflect that notice periods in Wales have now returned to their pre-coronavirus lengths, and the removal of coronavirus arrangements relating to possession applications and county court bailiff enforcement.
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Guidance updated due to the removal of the legislative need to self-isolate.
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Call-out box added on the lifting of Plan B measures.
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Guidance updated to reflect 6 months’ notice period extended for social rented sector in Wales from 31 December 2021 to 24 March 2022.
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Guidance updated to reflect that 6 months’ notice period for private rented sector is extended in Wales from 31 December 2021 to 24 March 2022.
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Information box added that England will move to Plan B in response to the risks of the Omicron variant.
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Guidance updated to reflect changes to the court process for possession introduced by the judiciary relating to COVID-19 case marking, review appointments and priority cases.
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Guidance updated to reflect the end of the Rental Mediation Service pilot.
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Guidance updated to reflect changes to required notice periods in England and Wales, the end of the furlough scheme and changes to international travel rules.
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Updated court fees published.
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Guidance updated to reflect the end of the fee waiver for applications to extend warrants of possession which expired due to the pandemic.
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Guidance updated for the move to COVID-19 rules step 4 on 19 July
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Guidance updated to reflect changes to notice periods and bailiff enforcement in Wales.
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Guidance updated to reflect 12 May announcement on changes to notice periods and bailiff enforcement.
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Guidance updated to reflect new processes for landlords to reactivate a possession claim after 30 April.
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Guidance updated with information about how to apply to extend the life of possession warrants which are nearing their expiry date, and to provide links to new Regulations which are in force restricting bailiff enforcement in England and Wales and to new mediation guidance.
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Guidance updated to 1) reflect the government’s commitment to extend the prevention of evictions by enforcement officers in England to 31 May 2021 and 2) confirm that legislation requiring landlords to provide 6 months notice to tenants in most cases has been extended until 31 May 2021.
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Guidance updated to reflect new legislation extending the prevention on enforcement of evictions in England during the national lockdown and launch of the mediation pilot.
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Updated to reflect the introduction of national lockdown measures and the extension of measures to prevent the enforcement of evictions in England and Wales, and to provide information about how these operate.
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Updated to reflect changes to the tier system and the introduction of a 4th tier from 20 December.
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Guidance updated to reflect the local restriction tier system that will be in place from Wednesday 2 December and to provide more information about how the exemptions to the restriction on bailiff enforcement operate in practice.
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Guidance updated to reflect the local restriction tier system that will be in place from Wednesday 2 December.
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Guidance updated to reflect new legislation to prevent enforcement of evictions in England during the period of national restrictions and over the Christmas.
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Guidance updated to reflect new national restrictions in England from 5 November.
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First published.