Evicting tenants

It is vital that landlords know what to do when they need to evict a tenant so that they are on the right side of the law. Failure to follow procedure properly could land you with a hefty fine, or even worse, time in prison.

But it’s not always easy to know what the law is! That is why we have designed a service to help you navigate your way through the various pitfalls of being a landlord.

The advice contained in these pages will give you the information you need to help you successfully, and legally, evict a tenant and regain possession of your premises. Please note that this advice applies only to tenants living in England & Wales and who have an assured or an assured shorthold tenancy agreement or tenants living in Northern Ireland, where the tenancy agreement has been created since 1 April 2007.

There are many different grounds you can use to evict a tenant from your property, but the two most commonly used grounds are rent arrears and the accelerated possession procedure. Read more about these procedures in our article 'Initial steps to take'.

If your tenants are in arrears of rent, but you are able to use the accelerated possession procedure, we recommend that you use this procedure, rather than using the ground of rent arrears. This way, you are able to get the tenants out as quickly as possible and get new tenants in who will start paying you the rent.

However, please note that when you use the accelerated possession procedure, the court will not order the tenants to pay any rent arrears to you. You must instead apply to the county court to try to get the outstanding rent owed to you.

What is the accelerated procedure?

The accelerated possession procedure can be used by a landlord at the end of the fixed term of a tenancy agreement or at any time during a periodic tenancy, provided that the tenants have occupied the property for at least six months since the start of the first tenancy agreement, or if a break clause has been used to end the tenancy early.

The procedure involves serving a section 21 notice, and then if the tenants fail to move out after you have served this notice, applying to the court for an order to evict the tenants.

Read more about using the accelerated possession procedure, here.

You can also refer to our accelerated possession flowchart using the following link (opens a PDF): Accelerated procedure flowchart

In Northern Ireland, if you wish to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent or for breach of any of the conditions contained within the tenancy agreement, then you must serve a notice to quit on the tenant giving them a minimum of 28 days' notice to leave the property.

In cases of a fixed term tenancy coming to its natural end, there is no requirement to service a notice to quit on the tenant; however, it is good practice to serve a notice of intention not to re-new the tenancy at least 28 days before the tenancy expires, after which, you can proceed with any legal action to remove the tenant.

If the tenant fails to leave the property once the 28 days expires or after further requests, you must apply to the High Court for an order for possession which will then be enforced by the Enforcements of Judgments Office.

Please note it is illegal in Northern Ireland to forcibly evict or remove a tenant from a property, harass a tenant until they vacate the property, or remove the tenant's belongings from the property and change the locks whilst the tenant is absent from the property.

What is the difference between a fixed term and a periodic tenancy?

A fixed term tenancy is created for a specified length of time, for example, 12 months. If the tenants remain in the property after the fixed term has ended, but do not enter into a new fixed term agreement, then their tenancy will automatically become periodic.

A periodic tenancy rolls on a specific period, such as month to month or quarter to quarter. This arrangement may have been specified at the start of the tenancy or may have naturally arisen by the expiry of a fixed term tenancy.

If you cannot use the accelerated procedure, and you are applying for possession on the grounds that there are rent arrears, then you should read our section on the initial steps to take when there are rent arrears to find out what you need to do.

You should also use our rent arrears flowchart to find out more information on the steps you will need to take. You can access this flowchart using the following link (opens a PDF): Rent arrears flowchart (England and Wales only)

Do not attempt to evict the tenant yourself. You must apply through the courts for them to do this on your behalf. Doing so is a criminal offence and you could be fined and/or sent to prison.