Evicting tenants in England
Accelerated possession orders
You can apply for an accelerated possession order if your tenants have not left by the date specified in your Section 21 notice and you’re not claiming rent arrears.
This is sometimes quicker than applying for a standard possession order and there’s usually no court hearing. It costs £391.
Fixed-term tenants cannot be evicted until their tenancy ends.
If you want to claim rent arrears, you can use either the:
- standard possession procedure
- accelerated procedure to get your property back, then make a separate court claim for the rent arrears
How to apply
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 is approved, the court will send your tenants a copy of the application.
Your tenants have 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 tenants 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 tenants raise an important issue)
Even if there’s a hearing, the court can still decide to issue a possession order.
If your tenants are in an exceptionally difficult situation the judge may give them up to 6 weeks.
If you made a possession claim before 3 August 2020
You’ll usually need to complete an N244 form to tell the court you want to continue with your claim.
You do not need to submit an N244 form if:
- you submitted a reactivation notice to the court before 4pm on 30 April 2021
- a judge has issued a possession order that says your tenants must leave the property
How to submit an N244 form
You’ll need to either:
- post 3 copies of the form with your payment to the court
- email the form to the court and give your phone number - the court will call you so that you can pay over the phone
It will cost £303 if you want the court to give your tenants notice of your application or £119 if not - for example, if the case is urgent.
If the judge for your case decides that you need to give notice and you have not, you’ll need to pay the extra £184.
You may be eligible for help with court fees.