Residential Repossession and Payment of Arrears of Rent

Why (or when) would someone require this service?

A landlord will require this service when they want to recover unpaid rent and/or evict a tenant of a rental property let out to tenants under an assured shorthold tenancy agreement (“AST”). 

Please note that this area of law will shortly be changing radically because of the commencement of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 which will abolish section 21. The last date for service of a section 21 notice is 30 April 2026. 

Section 8 or Section 21?

If a tenant has fallen behind with payment of their rent and the landlord wishes to evict the tenant due to this breach (or indeed wants to recover the property due to other breaches of the lease) they would need to use the procedure under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. 

In such circumstances we will request on behalf of the landlord that the court orders possession of the property as well as an order that the tenant pays the arrears of rent owing. 

Alternatively, and subject to certain requirements, a landlord is entitled to seek repossession of their property at the conclusion of the fixed term letting period without needing to cite any breach or other reason and, in these circumstances, they could use the procedure under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. In such circumstances simply that the landlord wants possession of his property back is sufficient.

Section 8 – what is involved?

The first step is to serve a Notice on the tenant informing them of the arrears and setting out the landlord’s grounds for possession. This is known as a Section 8 Notice (Notice pursuant to Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988). 

Once the Section 8 Notice has been served, the tenant must be allowed a period of at least 14 days in which to make payment of the arrears of rent to the tenant. If the tenant fails to do this, then the landlord is entitled to issue possession proceedings at court to evict the tenant.  

Once issued the court will list the matter for a hearing.  We will ordinarily arrange for the landlord to be represented at the court hearing (normally via the attendance of a barrister).  

Assuming that the proceedings are uncontested and that at the time that the Section 8 Notice was served and at the date of the court hearing there are at least two months arrears of rent owing to the landlord the court will order the tenant to vacate the property and will also require the tenant to pay the landlord the arrears of rent owing. If there are less than two months rent owing the court will have discretion as to whether to award possession of the property to the landlord or not. Where the court does have discretion, it could consider awarding a suspended possession order instead to the landlord. This would allow the tenant to remain living at the property provided that payment of future rent was paid on time and the arrears cleared by the tenant.

If the court does order the tenant to provide the landlord with possession of the property, it will normally allow the tenant a further period of fourteen days within which to vacate the property.

If the tenant fails to abide by the court order, then the landlord is entitled to seek to apply to the court bailiff for assistance to remove the tenant from the property.

If the tenant fails to pay the landlord the arrears of rent owing, then we can advise separately as to the various methods of enforcement available to the landlord for enforcement of the monetary sum.

Section 21 – what is involved?

The first step to obtaining possession of the property is for the landlord to serve notice of his intention to seek possession. This is done by serving what is known as a Section 21 Notice (pursuant to Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988). At least two months clear notice must be provided to the tenant following service of the Section 21 Notice.

Subject to certain requirements, a landlord is entitled to seek repossession of their property at the conclusion of the fixed term letting period. Tenancies are usually let on either a six month or twelve month contract.

There are certain formalities which must be strictly adhered to when preparing and serving the Section 21 Notice. It is quite easy for the notice to be completed incorrectly and if this occurs it would render the notice invalid. For instance, the date by when possession is requested must be carefully considered and accurately recorded within the Notice. We are happy to prepare and serve the Section 21 Notice on the tenant on behalf of the landlord if required.

If a tenant does not vacate after the expiry of the Section 21 Notice, the landlord is entitled to commence residential possession proceedings at court.

Please note, that if the landlord has been in receipt of a deposit payment from the tenant, the Section 21 Notice will only be valid and enforceable if the landlord had registered the deposit with an authorised scheme prior to serving the Notice. In addition to registering the deposit, the landlord should also have provided the tenant with the relevant scheme’s terms and conditions and any prescribed information as required.

Once court proceedings are issued the court will consider the paperwork filed and if it is satisfactory it will usually order that repossession be granted to the landlord without the need for the parties attending court for a hearing. Occasionally however the court will list a hearing if it wishes to ask the parties questions concerning the tenancy.

Once an order for possession is made by the court, the tenant is usually granted a period of 14 days in which to vacate the property. If the tenant does not vacate, the landlord can apply to the court again to seek the assistance of a court bailiff to evict the tenant.

If the landlord is seeking possession of the property following service of a Section 21 Notice, the most that the landlord will achieve will be to obtain an order from the court for possession as well as payment of a small amount of fixed costs. The landlord will not be entitled to obtain any other order from the court such as for payment of arrears of rent that are owing. 

There are several restrictions that prevent a Landlord from being able to serve a valid S.21 Notice . These restrictions are:

• The fixed term tenancy is less than 4 months old
• The statutory requirements for the tenancy deposit (assuming a deposit has been paid) have not been followed. See above summary.
• The Landlord has not provided the tenant with a copy of the current gas certificate, energy performance certificate or How to Rent Booklet.
• The property is a House of Multiple Occupation and the Landlord has not obtained the required License for this.
• Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms have not been fitted in each storey of the property.
• A local authority has served an improvement notice on the property in the last 6 months which has not been dealt with.
• The tenant has complained about the condition of the property or common parts and the landlord has not provided an adequate response to that complaint.

We recommend that we review the all of the paperwork carefully before issuing a section 21 notice. 

How long does it take?

Once court proceedings are issued under section 8 the court will normally list a court hearing to take place within 12-16 weeks. It would usually be  similar amount of time for the court to consider a section 21 application although this does not usually require a hearing. 

If the tenant does not vacate the property following a possession order the landlord will need to seek the assistance from a court bailiff to remove the tenant from the property.  It could take an additional 4 to 8 weeks to obtain the relevant warrant or writ and some further time to arrange an appointment. High Court Bailiffs can be appointed in some circumstances and they are usually quicker but more expensive. 

Is it expensive? What are the likely costs?

We offer a competitive pricing for acting for residential possession cases.  Please contact us for more information.

What are the things that people should consider before calling?

Landlords should ensure that they are clear as to the current level of any rental arrears and prepare a schedule.  Landlords should also have available the current tenancy agreement for consideration.

If a deposit has been taken by a landlord, all formalities concerning the registering of a deposit must have been complied with prior to serving a Section 21 Notice.

In addition to the above you should also have the following documents ready:

1. Energy Performance Certificate;
2. The Gas Safe Certificate;
3. The “How to rent checklist” that was served on the tenant; and
4. Your HMO licence (if relevant)

Why are Grant Saw the best people for the job?

We have successfully provided assistance to landlords for many years in recovering possession of their properties.

This is a specialist area and there are many pitfalls.  It is best practice to instruct solicitors who have expertise in this subject area, such as Grant Saw Solicitors. A technical error in procedure can lead to months of delay and potentially wasted costs to landlords.

Evicting a tenant due to arrears of rent - Myth Busting

That the landlord can take matters into their own hands and physically evict their tenant without involving the court. This is incorrect and illegal. 

Landlords must obtain a court order in order to evict their tenant (unless the tenant agrees to voluntarily vacate the property beforehand).  Furthermore, once a court order for possession has been obtained, the landlord must again seek assistance from a court bailiff in order to remove the tenant from the property (if the tenant refuses to vacate) and must not attend to this themselves.