Understanding the possession action process: guidance for landlords and tenants
Guidance for landlords and tenants in the private and social rented sectors to explain the possession action process in the county courts in England and Wales.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
Details
This guidance is to help private landlords to understand their rights and responsibilities when they need to take possession of their property through the county court by explaining how the possession action process works. It will also help social landlords understand the new arrangements which will be in place when the stay on possessions ends.
It will assist tenants who have been served with a notice requiring or seeking possession and provides detailed information about each stage of the possession action process where the landlord makes a possession claim to the county court.
The guides also contain advice to help tenants and private landlords to resolve common disputes in tenancies, such as rent arrears and anti-social behaviour, without the matter needing to go to court.
Each of these guides includes advice on the new arrangements in the county court that were introduced on 21 September 2020. These new arrangements assist landlords and tenants whose circumstances have been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic and help to manage the flow of new and outstanding cases in the courts.
Last updated
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Call-out box added on the lifting of Plan B measures.
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Guidance updated to reflect 6 months’ notice period extended for social rented sector in Wales from 31 December 2021 to 24 March 2022.
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Guidance updated to reflect that 6 months’ notice period for private rented sector is extended in Wales from 31 December 2021 to 24 March 2022.
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Guidance updated to reflect changes to the court process for possession introduced by the judiciary relating to COVID-19 case marking, review appointments and priority cases.
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Guidance updated to reflect the end of the fee waiver for applications to extend warrants of possession which expired due to the pandemic.
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Guidance updated to reflect changes to notice periods and bailiff enforcement in Wales.
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Guidance updated to reflect new processes for landlords to reactivate a possession claim after 30 April.
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Guidance updated with information about how to apply to extend the life of possession warrants which are nearing their expiry date, and to provide links to new Regulations which are in force restricting bailiff enforcement in England and Wales and to new mediation guidance.
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Guidance updated to 1) reflect the government’s commitment to extend the prevention of evictions by enforcement officers in England to 31 May 2021 and 2) confirm that legislation requiring landlords to provide 6 months notice to tenants in most cases has been extended until 31 May 2021.
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Guidance updated to reflect new legislation extending the prevention on enforcement of evictions in England during the national lockdown and launch of the mediation pilot.
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Updated to reflect the introduction of national lockdown measures and the extension of measures to prevent the enforcement of evictions in England and Wales, and to provide information about how these operate.
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Guidance updated to reflect the local restriction tier system that will be in place from Wednesday 2 December.
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Guidance updated to reflect new legislation to prevent enforcement of evictions in England during the period of national restrictions and over the Christmas.
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First published.
Update history
2025-04-08 00:01
Updated to reflect new fees from 8 April 2025.
2024-01-09 17:16
Social rented tenant guidance updated to reflect the launch of the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
2023-08-01 09:57
Private landlord and tenant guidance updated to reflect the launch of the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
2023-02-13 10:29
Guidance updated to remove references to arrangements which were in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to make the pages England-only following the introduction of new housing law in Wales (The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016). The social landlord guidance, which focussed on the additional COVID-19 arrangements, has been withdrawn.
2022-10-05 16:28
Guidance updated to reflect that notice periods in Wales have now returned to their pre-coronavirus lengths, and the removal of coronavirus arrangements relating to possession applications and county court bailiff enforcement.
2022-03-08 16:28
Guidance updated due to the removal of the legislative need to self-isolate.
2022-01-19 15:54
2021-12-22 14:29
Guidance updated to reflect 6 months’ notice period extended for social rented sector in Wales from 31 December 2021 to 24 March 2022.
2021-12-20 17:23
Guidance updated to reflect that 6 months’ notice period for private rented sector is extended in Wales from 31 December 2021 to 24 March 2022.
2021-12-10 10:23
Information box added that England will move to Plan B in response to the risks of the Omicron variant.
2021-11-30 17:13
Guidance updated to reflect changes to the court process for possession introduced by the judiciary relating to COVID-19 case marking, review appointments and priority cases.
2021-10-13 15:14
Guidance updated to reflect the end of the Rental Mediation Service pilot.
2021-10-01 14:54
Guidance updated to reflect changes to required notice periods in England and Wales, the end of the furlough scheme and changes to international travel rules.
2021-09-30 00:15
Updated court fees published.
2021-05-28 18:31
Guidance updated to reflect 12 May announcement on changes to notice periods and bailiff enforcement.
2021-04-07 15:10
Guidance updated with information about how to apply to extend the life of possession warrants which are nearing their expiry date, and to provide links to new Regulations which are in force restricting bailiff enforcement in England and Wales and to new mediation guidance.
2021-03-12 11:01
Guidance updated to 1) reflect the government's commitment to extend the prevention of evictions by enforcement officers in England to 31 May 2021 and 2) confirm that legislation requiring landlords to provide 6 months notice to tenants in most cases has been extended until 31 May 2021.
2021-02-19 18:52
Guidance updated to reflect new legislation extending the prevention on enforcement of evictions in England during the national lockdown and launch of the mediation pilot.