Guidance on how to evict your tenant

In order to evict your tenant, you must follow the correct procedures, if you do not do this, you may be guilty of illegally evicting your tenant.

You do not need to give a reason to evict your tenant from an Assured Shorthold tenancy. However, you must give your tenant notice in writing to leave; this should be a minimum of two calendar months' notice.

The Council's Accommodation & Lettings Officer (Private), can advise and assist you in bringing the tenancy to an end.  This includes providing you with a blank Section 21 Notice and a 6A Notice template and guidance notes on how to complete the document. We will also confirm to you if the notice served is valid.

In the unlikely event that your tenant does not leave the property at the expiry of the Notice, you will have no alternative but to apply to the courts for a possession order.  You can do this using Accelerated Possession Proceedings; this is quicker than a normal eviction and does not usually need a court hearing.  You will be required to make an application to the court for accelerated possession; the court will send your tenant a copy of the application.  If your tenant wants to challenge the application, they must do so within 14 days of receiving the application. A judge will decide whether to issue a possession order, giving you the right to evict your tenants and take possession of your property.  This is generally the outcome of an accelerated possession application.  A court hearing is usually only required if the paperwork submitted to the court is not in order or if your tenant raises some significant issues.