A ‘tenancy’ or a ‘tenancy agreement’ is the same thing - a contract between you and your landlord which sets out the basis on which you are allowed to live in the property you rent. A contract doesn’t always have to be in writing to count as a contract – but a tenancy or tenancy agreement usually will be. If you are living somewhere and paying rent you definitely have an agreement whether or not there is anything in writing, and the agreement is probably a tenancy agreement.

If you rent from a private landlord (not the council) you will probably have a particular kind of tenancy called an assured shorthold tenancy. Sometimes you may have this type of tenancy with a housing association landlord too. The information in this guide only applies to you if your tenancy is an assured shorthold tenancy. If you’re not sure what type of tenancy you have go to Shelter's Tenancy Checker to find out. 

If you have an assured shorthold tenancy, then a section 21 notice is the most common way of starting the eviction process. Giving you notice is how your landlord tells you that they want you to leave their property and the date they want you to leave by. A section 21 notice gets its name from the section of the Act of Parliament that created it. You may also hear it called an ‘eviction notice’, a ‘notice to quit’ or a ‘notice seeking possession’.

Using a section 21 notice means a landlord doesn’t have to give any reason for asking you to leave. And they can use a speedy route (lawyers and courts call it the ‘accelerated possession procedure’) to get a possession order that won’t normally involve a court hearing, if you don’t leave their property by the date given in the section 21 notice.

A possession order is an order made by a court ordering a tenant to leave their landlord’s property on a particular date.

The section 21 notice you get may look different depending on when your tenancy started.
If your tenancy began or was renewed on or after 1st October 2015, the section 21 notice you get must look like this - Form 6A Notice seeking possession of a property let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (scroll down until you see a link to Form 6A). If it doesn’t, then your landlord hasn’t used the correct notice and you can challenge their right to get a possession order.

Even if your tenancy began before 1st October 2015, it is likely that your landlord has to use this form. 

• Do you want to leave or would you like to stay on in the property if you can? If you’d like to stay on, talk to your landlord – calmly and politely. Do they actually want you to leave? Sometimes landlords send a section 21 notice just in case, so that they can go to court straight away at the end of a fixed term tenancy without having to wait. They may not have decided actually to do so yet.
• Confirm what you are told or agree with your landlord or their agent in writing – by email or letter and keep a copy.
• Do you just want to look for somewhere else to live and move out by the deadline? If so, there’s no need to panic because you have 2 months before you need to leave and even then you don’t actually have to leave until your landlord gets a possession order and you are evicted by the court bailiffs. If there is any chance that your local council will find you somewhere to live you must not move out until eviction or the council re-houses you. Talk to your local council – ask to speak to someone in the housing department who deals with homelessness and find out if you are eligible for re-housing by them. For more help go to What to do if you are threatened with homelessness. 
• If you find somewhere to live but can’t move in until sometime after the section 21 notice date runs out, ask your landlord if you can stay on for a bit. Occasionally a landlord may agree to this. Confirm anything you agree with your landlord or their agent in writing – by email or letter and keep a copy.
• Do you want to challenge the section 21 notice? If you think you want to do this: 

1. Weigh up the pros and cons of challenging your landlord’s claim for a possession order. See Pros and cons of challenging a claim for a possession order.
2. Read the section 21 notice carefully to check for mistakes (the law calls these ‘defects’). Are they serious enough to mean that you may be able to challenge the notice if your landlord applies for a possession order? See Reasons you may be able to challenge your landlord’s claim for a possession order.
3. Get some legal advice to help you decide whether or not to challenge your section 21 notice and your landlord’s claim for a possession order. See Getting legal advice about a section 21 notice.

Pros

You may be able to delay the eviction and stay in the property for a few months longer. This will buy you some time. How desperate are you to stay in the property for as long as possible?

If there is any chance that your local council will accept you as homeless and find you somewhere to live, they may ask you to challenge your landlord’s claim if they are aware that there is a reason you can do this.

Cons

Unless you are successful, the court will order you to pay the landlord’s costs and you will still have to leave the property.

Even if you are successful this time, your landlord only has to start the process all over again and if they comply with all the rules next time round, you will still end up having to leave their property.

You may not get a positive or any reference from your landlord.

It’s easy to assume your landlord knows the law and the section 21 notice you’ve had is correct. But in fact landlords and their agents make lots of mistakes. It’s possible something is so wrong with the notice that a judge wouldn’t grant a possession order if you challenge it when or if your landlord goes to court. So it’s worth checking your notice very carefully to see if you’ve got one or more reasons to challenge it. You should also think about getting some legal advice at this point. See Getting legal advice.

Use our list of reasons to work out if you may be able to challenge your landlord’s claim for a possession order.

In the list of reasons, we often talk about the date you receive a notice. By that we mean the date that the law says you have received it, which may not be the same day you actually see it - it might be before or after that date. Your tenancy agreement will probably say how your landlord can get the notice to you, for example by leaving it at the property you rent or by posting it. It will probably also say when you will be taken to have received the notice.

We also talk about you receiving a notice between certain dates, for example between 1st January and 31st January. By that we mean that the law says that you have received it on or after 1st January up to and including 31st January.

It’s easy to assume your landlord knows the law and the section 21 notice you’ve had is correct. But in fact landlords and their agents make lots of mistakes. It’s possible something is so wrong with the notice that a judge wouldn’t grant a possession order if you challenge it when or if your landlord goes to court. So it’s worth checking your notice very carefully to see if you’ve got one or more reasons to challenge it. You should also think about getting some legal advice at this point. See Getting legal advice.

Use our list of reasons to work out if you may be able to challenge your landlord’s claim for a possession order.

In the list of reasons, we often talk about the date you receive a notice. By that we mean the date that the law says you have received it, which may not be the same day you actually see it - it might be before or after that date. Your tenancy agreement will probably say how your landlord can get the notice to you, for example by leaving it at the property you rent or by posting it. It will probably also say when you will be taken to have received the notice.

We also talk about you receiving a notice between certain dates, for example between 1st January and 31st January. By that we mean that the law says that you have received it on or after 1st January up to and including 31st January.

Reason 1

You’ve been sent the wrong section 21 notice.

If your tenancy began or was renewed on or after 1st October 2015, the section 21 notice you get must look like this: Form 6A Notice seeking possession of a property let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy

There have been different versions of this form – check that the one the landlord has used is exactly the same as the one on the website.

Even if your tenancy began before 1st October 2015, it is likely that the notice has to be in this form.

Reason 2

You receive a section 21 notice before you’ve had your first tenancy of that property for 4 months.

If your landlord sends you a section 21 notice, for example, 3 months after your original tenancy starts, you can challenge their application for a possession order.

Reason 3

You haven’t been given enough notice.

The notice must give you at least 2 months’ notice. The 2 months' notice period starts on the date the law says you received it and ends on the date when the notice says you have to leave the property.

Example:

Trudy’s tenancy agreement says that notices can be sent by first class post and will be assumed to arrive the following day. Trudy’s landlord posts the section 21 notice to her on April 1st 2024 telling her that she has to leave on May 30th. The notice will be treated as arriving on April 2nd (even if it arrives later than that). Trudy’s landlord has not given her enough notice. It is three days short of the required 2 months and so the notice is incorrect.

Reason 4

You have a fixed term tenancy, and in the section 21 notice your landlord asks you to leave before the end of the fixed term.

A fixed term tenancy is a tenancy that only lasts a set amount of time, usually 6 months or 1 year. So if your tenancy lasts for 1 year and runs out in December, but the section 21 notice tells you to leave on a date in November, you can challenge your landlord’s claim for possession.

But if your fixed term is longer than 6 months, check your tenancy agreement. Sometimes it may allow notice to be given after 6 months even if the term has not run out.

Reason 5

The section 21 notice has expired

You received the notice more than 6 months ago.

Reason 6

You’ve received a section 21 notice after

a)    you complained about disrepair to your landlord in writing, and

b)    your landlord failed to reply positively in writing within 14 days setting out the steps they would take to fix the property.

So long as your local council sends your landlord a notice telling them that they must carry out repairs or improvements before the court deals with your landlord’s claim for a possession order, then you can challenge the section 21 notice and your landlord won’t be able to send you a new notice for 6 months.

The rules on this are complicated.

If you think you may be in this situation, try getting some legal advice. See More help

Reason 7

Repairs or improvements

Sometime in the last six months, the council has sent your landlord a notice telling them that they must carry out repairs or improvements to the property you rent from them.

Reason 8

Your deposit has not been put in a recognised tenancy deposit protection scheme.

A recognised tenancy deposit protection scheme is a government backed scheme set up to keep your deposit safe so that you get back what you’re entitled to when your tenancy ends. If you are an assured shorthold tenant your landlord must have put your deposit in one of these schemes within 30 days of getting your money.

Check if your tenancy deposit is protected

Reason 9

No deposit protection information

At the time you receive the section 21 notice, you’ve not been given the information the law requires you to have about the protection of your deposit.

There are detailed rules about what information you should get. So for example, you must have:

• the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and any fax number of the scheme looking after your deposit,
• information about how to get your deposit back when you leave,
• information about what happens if you or the landlord can’t agree how much money you’re going to be repaid at the end of the tenancy,
• information about how you can resolve this kind of dispute without going to court, and
• a deposit protection certificate signed by the landlord recording the amount paid, the address of the property, both your and the landlord’s contact details, and information about how to contact you at the end of the tenancy.

Reason 10

Licensing of house in multiple occupation

You live in a ‘house in multiple occupation’ and your landlord doesn’t meet any necessary licensing requirements.

Your landlord must have a licence, or be in the process of applying for one, if the property you rent counts as a large ‘house in multiple occupation’ (HMO) needing a licence. The property will be a large house in multiple occupation if:

• It is rented to 5 or more people who form more than 1 household (so, for example, if you are single and live in a house-share with two couples, that is a total of 5 people who between them form 3 separate households), and
• The tenants share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities.
• Sometimes smaller HMOs also need a licence. Whether the HMO you live in needs a licence varies because different councils are allowed to set their own rules on this.

This means you need to check with your council or on their website. You can also ask the HMO licensing team at your local council to check if the property is registered as a ‘house in multiple occupation’. The register may also be available on your council’s website.

Reason 11

No valid energy performance certificate or gas safety certificate

Your landlord has not given you a valid energy performance certificate or a gas safety certificate dated within the last 12 months, for the property.

(This reason only applies if your tenancy began or was renewed after 1st October 2015)

Your landlord is supposed to carry out a gas safety check before your tenancy starts, and every year after that, and should give you a copy of the record of that check (a gas safety certificate). If you have not been given a copy of the certificate, dated within the last 12 months, any section 21 notice is invalid.

If your landlord failed to carry out a gas safety check before you first moved in, they may never be able to serve a valid section 21 notice. However, this is an area of law that is not clear, and it would be best to seek legal advice if you want to use this reason.

Reason 12

Not been given the checklist for renting

Your landlord has not given you the latest copy of the government publication ‘How to rent: the checklist for renting in England’. (This only applies if your tenancy began or was renewed after 1st October 2015)

This publication must be the one that was current when your tenancy started or must be the one that is current now for the section 21 notice to be valid.

Reason 13

Local authority landlord licensing scheme

You live in a local authority area where the council runs a landlord licensing scheme and your landlord doesn’t meet the licensing requirements.

You can ask your council if they run a landlord licensing scheme. If they do, check if your landlord is licensed.

Reason 14

Mistake on the eviction notice

Your landlord has made a mistake in the section 21 notice that makes the meaning unclear (for example, given the wrong name or address).

Minor slips generally won’t be enough to allow you to challenge your landlord’s claim for possession.

Reason 15

Fees

Your landlord or their agent has charged you any fee except the few specific fees they are allowed to charge you, and either your tenancy began on or after 01/06/19 or the fee was charged after 01/06/20.

You can find the full list of fees on GOV.UK

They include:

• rent,
• a deposit of no more than 5 weeks rent,
• a holding deposit of no more than 1 week (that must be repaid to you or can be taken off the rent you owe if you agree),
• a charge for replacing a key,
• limited fees if you ask to change or end the tenancy earlyInterest on rent that you pay late.

Nearly Legal's section 21 eviction flow chart can also help you to work out if your section 21 notice is valid or not.

If you find you have one or more reasons to challenge your landlord’s claim for a possession order, what you do next depends on what’s important to you in your particular situation. If you are planning to leave at the end of your tenancy anyway, there may be no point in contacting your landlord or their agent to tell them what you think is wrong. You will probably want to focus on finding somewhere else to live and making sure you get your deposit back.
If you’re desperate to stay where you are for as long as possible, then you probably want to sit tight when you get the section 21 notice and wait for your landlord to start possession proceedings. Don’t tell them in advance about the mistake you have found - save it up until you receive the court papers. But get some legal advice when you first get the notice (see More help) and ask if you are eligible for legal aid (see Getting legal advice).

You also need to know a little bit about the court process so you understand when you need to do something if you’re going to challenge your landlord’s claim for a possession order.

What usually happens is this:

1. The landlord or their agent completes court form N5B: Claim for possession of property. You can see what this form looks like here: Form N5B.
2. The landlord or their agent sends the completed claim form, together with a copy of your tenancy agreement and the section 21 notice and the fee, to the court. They must also enclose a lot of other documents relating to your tenancy. It is by reading these closely that you will usually discover the landlord’s mistakes.
3. The court sends you a copy of the claim form, your tenancy agreement and the section 21 notice together with court form N11B: Defence form. You can see what this form looks like here: Form N11B.
4. If you do nothing when you get the landlord’s claim, the court will just go ahead and make the possession order. There will be no court hearing unless you complete and return the Defence form. The possession order will probably arrive about 6-8 weeks later, or more if your local county court is very busy.
5. If you want to challenge your landlord’s claim, you or your lawyer must complete and return the Defence form. Explain what you disagree with in the claim.
6. If you want the court to allow you longer than 14 days to leave the property, you must complete and return the Defence form. Courts can grant extensions up to a maximum of 42 days/6 weeks. You can ask for more time in which to leave whether or not you are challenging your landlord’s claim for a possession order. The court will only give you longer than 14 days if you can show you will suffer exceptional hardship otherwise. But don’t be put off by the words ‘exceptional hardship’. Courts are generally willing to give you more time if you give them a reason. For example, perhaps you’re expecting a baby any day or you are a wheelchair user who needs a ground floor property and it will be harder and take you longer to find alternative accommodation.
7. If you decide to complete and return the Defence form to the court, you must do this by the date set. The front page of the claim form sets this out - it will be about 2 weeks from when you receive it. If you miss this deadline, the court will make a possession order. If you are in this position and want to challenge the possession order, get legal advice urgently.
8. If the court gets the Defence form in time, it will fix a hearing date. The court will send you a notice telling you when and where the hearing will take place. It is likely to be at least six weeks away or longer.
9. At the hearing the judge will listen to what you or your lawyer say and decide whether or not to grant your landlord a possession order and an order that you pay their costs.
10. If your challenge is successful and your landlord fails to get a possession order, you can stay in the property and must go on paying the rent. But there is nothing to stop your landlord sending you another section 21 notice immediately or as soon as they have corrected any mistakes. If they get the process right this time, they will get their possession order – it’s only a matter of time. But that may give you what you want – more time.

So - if you can challenge the section 21 notice and your landlord’s claim for a possession order, you or your lawyer must complete a Defence form and send it to the court within the deadline.

Don’t be put off getting legal advice about what you can do if you get a section 21 notice because you think you can’t afford it. Legal aid is a government scheme to help people who live on a low income, have few savings and meet specific other criteria, pay for legal advice, representation and other help. Legal aid is still available to pay for a lawyer to help you if you face being evicted from your home and to advise you about your section 21 notice – depending on your financial circumstances. Go to Check if you can get legal aid to find out. 

You can find legal aid solicitors that do housing law at Find a legal aid adviser or family mediator.

Getting legal advice will help you decide what to do next and whether or not to challenge your landlord’s claim for a possession order.

It is best not to deal with an eviction notice on your own, so if possible get some help. If you can’t find a housing lawyer to help you, there are lots of other places to get housing advice. For more information about where to go for advice, see More help.

Try not to leave it to the last minute before getting advice. Many advice centres have waiting lists so you may have to wait a while before you get to see an adviser.

Tenancy Relations Service – contact your local council to find out if they run a tenancy relations service. Many do. If so, ask to speak to a tenancy relations officer and they should be able to advise you about your eviction notice, for free. They can also help if it seems you are being asked to leave your home unlawfully and with illegal eviction or harassment. In some councils the tenancy relations service operates via a Housing Advice Centre or the Housing Options Team. If your local council says they don’t have a tenancy relations service, ask them if they have a housing advice centre or housing options team instead.

Shelter has lots of useful information on their website and a webchat service. Call their helpline if you:

• are homeless,
• have nowhere to stay tonight,
• are worried about losing your home in the next two months, or
• are at risk of harm or abuse.

You can call Shelter's Free housing advice helpline - on: 0808 800 4444. The line is open from 8am – 6pm Mondays - Fridays, closed on Bank Holidays. Calls are free from UK landlines and all major UK mobile operators. They also offer a webchat service.

Shelter also has some advice centres in England where you can go to get personal, face-to-face advice from a housing specialist. To find your nearest centre got to Shelter - get help, click on Find local services, and then search for an adviser using your postcode.

Citizens Advice is the national body for Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB). Scroll down their homepage to search for a CAB near you.

Community organisations – some local community organisations offer housing advice, and sometimes in languages other than English. If there’s a community organisation near where you live, it’s worth asking them if they can help. If you don’t know whether there is one, ask your local council if they know of any.

Law Centres employ solicitors and other workers who specialise in helping people with housing, employment, immigration, education, community care, and benefit problems. You can search for your nearest Law Centre at Find a Law Centre near you.

LawWorks connects people in need of legal advice and assistance with lawyers willing to meet those needs for free. It supports 170 legal advice clinics across England and Wales. The majority of these law clinics take place in the evening and provide free initial advice to individuals with a particular focus on social welfare issues, employment law, housing matters and consumer disputes. You can find a clinic here: LawWorks clinics network.

Disclaimer

The information in this guide applies to England only.

The law is complicated. We recommend you try to get advice from the sources we have suggested.

The cases we refer to are not always real but show a typical situation. We have included them to help you think about how to deal with your own situation.

Acknowledgements

Advicenow would like to thank all those who provided advice and feedback on this guide, especially David Thomas.

This guide was written and produced by Advicenow thanks to funding from the TDS Charitable Foundation.

The November 2020, June 2021, September 2021 and July 2022 updates were supported by the Ministry of Justice and The Access to Justice Foundation through the Legal Support for Litigants in Person grant.

This version of the guide was updated thanks to funding from Trust for London. 

Accelerated possession procedure – a special process that landlords can use to get a possession order if the tenant has an assured shorthold tenancy. The process is not always that quick but most orders are made without a court hearing taking place.

Claim – a formal request that starts court proceedings.

Defect – a mistake in the section 21 notice.

Possession order - an order made by a court ordering a tenant to leave their landlord’s property on a particular date.