How can you evict a tenant from your Peterborough property without falling foul of the law? If they aren’t sticking to their side of your lease agreement, you may start thinking about how to get them out of the property. If you’re wondering how to evict legally, then read on.
Clearly you can’t just go around and insist they leave or get a locksmith in to change the locks. These days, tenants’ rights are taken seriously. Frustrating as it is when they haven’t stuck to their side of the tenancy agreement, you still need to follow the letter of the law. This can be a lengthy and confusing process for the average, accidental landlord – so it’s essential to navigate the process carefully.
Fail to lodge a tenant’s deposit in the right way or timescale (within 30 days of receiving it) and your ability to evict him or her is in doubt. More on this later. In the meantime, this article will list the ways, as a landlord and property owner, you can repossess your flat – legally.
In this guide, we will break down the rules that apply to Assured Shorthold Tenancies, which apply to most private rental properties. These cover both ‘periodic’ tenancies and fixed-term contracts, and again, the rules vary a bit depending on which type of tenancy agreement your tenants rent under.
Periodic tenancies run a regularly renewing interval (monthly, for example) with no fixed end date. Fixed-term tenancies usually last for six months or up to one year. With this in mind, read on to find out which tenant eviction laws you need to follow.
Changes To Eviction Under The Renters’ Rights Act 2025
The government’s Renters’ Rights Act will change the eviction process, and other aspects of the private rental sector in the coming months.
First of all, there are plans to make all tenancies periodic, including existing tenancies. Every tenancy would include a 12-month protected period where landlords cannot evict the tenants for reasons such as selling the property, or for the landlord or their family to move into it. To evict on these grounds, 4 months’ notice would be required, and other notice periods are also set to change.
Under the proposals, the bill seeks to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions to give greater stability to renters. This would leave Section 8 as the only route for eviction, and at the moment Section 21 is commonly used when there’s an issue with the tenants.
However, the Renters’ Rights Bill would expand the grounds for landlords to evict a tenant using Section 8 eviction notices, taking on some new situations.
The government also raised concerns about retaliatory evictions, and unofficial routes to eviction. As part of the measures to tackle these concerns, tenants would be given greater protection from excessive rent rises to guard against landlords using this to force tenants to leave.
How To Legally Evict A Tenant When Needed
How can you give an eviction notice to the tenant when you need to? If your tenant is resident in England and Wales, then you have two routes of repossession you can go down, according to the Housing Act 1988. This is either a Section 21 notice or a Section 8 notice as outlined on gov.uk. You can serve both simultaneously in some situations (there’s no denying your tenant will certainly get the message you want them out). Seek legal advice if you’re not sure because there are circumstances where you can’t legally issue a Section 21 notice.
The letter basically lets your tenant know you would like them to leave because you want to repossess the apartment or house. But evicting tenants is a serious business; if you don’t hit certain marks correctly, you can find yourself on the wrong side of the law. It goes without saying, that’s the last thing you need if you’re already concerned about your rental property.
Our guide to how you can evict tenants legally will share tips on the options available to you as a landlord. Talk to your letting agent and/or solicitor for advice on how to evict tenants based on your own property. Remember, it’s important to guard against and prevent void periods unnecessarily – or without due thought.
How Much Notice Do I Need To Give For Eviction?
The amount of written notice a landlord must give depends on whether you’re serving a Section 8 notice or a Section 21 notice. Take care as you could be illegally evicting your tenant if you don’t apply the required notice periods.
Section 8 Notice
The Section 8 notice period ranges from immediate to 2 months, depending on the grounds for eviction. If the landlord needs to live in the property themselves or wants to sell it, the minimum notice period is 2 months. The notice period for breaching the tenancy agreement, damaging the property or failing to pay rent for two months, is 2 weeks. Landlords can evict a tenant fast in cases where there’s a serious problem, for instance, if there’s anti-social behaviour. Tenants who have engaged in illegal or disruptive behaviour can be given immediate notice.
Section 21 Notice
To serve a ‘no fault’ notice, you need to give tenants at least two months’ notice. For a fixed-term tenancy, the possession date can’t be earlier than the end of the fixed term. The Section 21 notice must meet the terms set out in the break clause, if there is one in the tenancy agreement.
How Much Does It Cost To Evict A Tenant In The UK?
Evicting a tenant typically costs between £1350 and £2200 in England and Wales depending if you take it to the county court or High Court for a court hearing. County court eviction costs include around £200 to serve notice with professional legal help, £148 for a warrant for possession, £404 for the possession order online or the paper form, £500-600 for the eviction specialist fee, and the current cost of engaging court bailiffs for an eviction starts at £148 for the warrant. High court evictions incur extra costs including a writ for possession at £123, and court bailiffs at around £500 per hour.
Ultimately, the process of eviction is one of the most comprehensive costs for landlords (should they have to go through with it).
Evicting A Tenant: The Process
This is the process you will follow when you evict a tenant, step by step. But try to find an amicable resolution with the tenants before launching the eviction process. You may be able to solve the problem (and save money).
1. Serve the Correct Notice
You need to serve the appropriate notice for the situation, otherwise, the eviction can fail and you may be breaking the law.
Serving A Section 21 Notice
Under a Section 21 eviction notice you don’t need to state a reason why you’re taking back your property. It’s typically used at the end of a fixed-term tenancy, or an ongoing tenancy with a break clause in the tenancy agreement. You can’t issue a Section 21 notice before the fixed term has ended, or if it’s less than 4 months since the tenancy commenced. But it will be difficult to evict a tenant if the deposit is not protected – you can’t issue the notice if you’ve failed to meet your deposit protection scheme responsibilities.
Serving A Section 8 Notice
If you have grounds to evict your tenant before their fixed rental term has ended, then you can apply for a Section 8 notice, also known as an eviction notice. You can evict a tenant under Section 8 proceedings if they:
have failed to pay rent for more than 2 months
damage the property
damage furnishings you own
engage in antisocial behaviour
disturb the neighbouring properties
are subletting
In these situations, they have broken the terms of their tenancy agreement. There are 18 grounds for repossession that the court can take into account.
The problem with serving notice on a tenant via a Section 8 notice is that the tenants can dispute your reasons. If your tenants raise a dispute, the attempted eviction process can end up in a messy – and costly – court case. One reason for dispute could be that the tenant claims repairs weren’t carried out. In this instance, the matter could be adjourned and the tenant given more time to stay in the flat until the case comes to court.
Note, you’re expected to try and resolve the problem amicably before taking action as a first resort. For example, by approaching the tenants with a rental payment plan if they’ve fallen into arrears.
Serving A Notice To Quit
Notice to quit is used to evict tenants in very specific types of tenancy. It can only be used to end a rolling agreement (e.g. from month to month), and your renters are known as occupiers with basic protection.
You can issue a notice to quit if:
you’re letting out a room to someone you employ and the room comes with the job
they rent a flat in a building you also live in
they’re students renting in a student hall of residence
you’re letting out a room in a hotel in certain situations
These are the most common property types where the notice to quit can apply. But it can cover other less common situations as well.
Notice To Quit For Protected And Regulated Tenancies
If you are a private landlord with a regulated or protected tenant, they can only be removed by getting a court order to evict. Your tenant may have a regulated tenancy if they started paying rent before 15 January 1989, and you are a private landlord. To evict them, you must apply to the court with proof of a legal reason for the eviction, and attend a possession hearing to seek court approval.
2. Apply For An Order Of Possession
If your tenants don’t vacate the property after the Section 8 or Section 21 notice has expired, the next step is applying for an order of possession or accelerated possession order. Here’s what happens in each scenario.
You can make a standard possession claim costing £404 whether you’ve served a Section 8 or Section 21 notice. Landlords can claim unpaid rent at the same time by this route. You will need to submit an N5 claim for possession form and an N119 particulars of claim for possession form.
You need a paper form if you’re making a claim against squatters or tenants who have broken the terms of the tenancy agreement. However, most landlords apply online. Then you will attend the court hearing, or your letting agent can represent you.
You can apply for an accelerated possession order for £404 if your tenants haven’t vacated the property by the Section 21 deadline and you aren’t claiming any rent arrears. The tenant will be sent a copy by the court, with 14 days to object.
If your claim for a possession order is successful, you won’t have to attend a court hearing. The tenant will usually be given 14 days to vacate your property. In exceptional cases, a judge can grant the tenant 42 days to move out (usually if they plead hardship and the reason for repossession is rent arrears).
Getting A Warrant for Possession
If the tenants don’t leave your property by the set date, or break the suspended order for possession’s terms, apply to the county court for a warrant for possession. The forms are available on the gov.uk website.
A warrant for possession costs around £148 and can take up to 6 weeks to be issued. The court will send you a warrant number along with a notice of appointment (EX96 form) detailing the eviction date. Complete and return the form, or the court will cancel the planned eviction.
The bailiffs will turn up on the designated eviction day. As the landlord, you can watch from outside but can’t enter the property while the tenant is still inside. This might be construed as a form of ‘harassment.’ It’s a good idea to ask a locksmith to attend, to change the locks once the tenant has been evicted.
Alternatively, you can have your case transferred to the High Court if the arrears are more than £600, including the cost of going to court. Transferring to the High Court can add £123 to the total cost of evicting tenants from your rental property. If you do this, a High Court enforcement officer will carry out the eviction.
A Postponed Possession Order
Sometimes the judge allows the tenant to stay if they agree to pay enough of the outstanding rent that there’s less than two months’ worth left. He or she will then be given a period in which to pay it off. The tenant will be allowed to stay in the property until that time. This is known as a postponed possession order. If it’s broken the Bailiff can be called again and the tenant ordered to leave.
Get In Touch
Have we answered some of your questions about evicting a tenant? If you need to know how to legally kick someone out of your rented property in Cambridgeshire or Northamptonshire then we hope the above guidance helped. If not, contact our experienced team for advice.
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Wayne Beecham
Wayne is East Midland’s answer to property management. His hard work and high standards of service have gained him a fierce reputation within the regional lettings market. He knows what it takes to own and manage a profitable portfolio himself, because he is not only a successful investor and landlord, but co-founder and “hands on” managing director of Progressive Lets.
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