The documents contained in this pack include everything you will need before you can start court proceedings to claim back possession of your property if it is rented using an assured shorthold tenancy agreement.

Begin the process by using the document 'Notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988' along with its associated covering letter. (Please note that you cannot use this section 21 notice if you taken a deposit but have not sent to your tenants a notice of the government-authorised tenancy deposit protection scheme that you are using. If you have not yet done this, you should use the document 'Notice to tenant(s) of deposit protection scheme' first.)

Once you have correctly served the section 21 notice, use Form N215 - Certificate of service to record how and when the section 21 notice was served.

If the tenants do not move out of the property in the time stipulated in the section 21 notice, you can move to stage two in the process by using our pack 'Stage two: Start court proceedings for possession (accelerated possession)'.

Pack documents:

• Notice to tenant(s) of deposit protection scheme
• Notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988
• Covering letter for section 21 notice
• Form N215 - Certificate of service

If your tenant(s) has failed to pay rent and is in arrears, you can use this pack to help get them to pay back the rent, or as the first step in the process of starting court proceedings if they do not pay. This pack is suitable for use where you have an assured shorthold or an assured tenancy agreement with the tenant(s).

You should begin the process by sending your tenant(s) our 'Initial letter to tenants regarding rent arrears'. If you have not already done so, you must also send our ‘Notice to tenant(s) of deposit protection scheme’ (for use with lettings using an ‘assured shorthold tenancy’ only). If the initial letter does not have the desired effect then you should use our ‘Notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988’ along with its associated covering letter ‘Covering letter for section 8 notice’ to prepare and serve a formal notice seeking possession upon the tenant(s). You can use our ‘Form N215 - Certificate of service’ to record how and when the section 8 notice was served.

If it is unlikely that the tenant(s) will pay the rent arrears (due to their financial circumstances) then you may want to consider obtaining a possession order using the accelerated possession procedure as this is quicker, but does not order the tenant(s) to pay the rent back. Start with our pack 'Stage one: Before you start court proceedings (accelerated possession)'.

Pack documents:

• Notice to tenant(s) of deposit protection scheme
• Initial letter to tenants regarding rent arrears
• Notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988
• Covering letter for section 8 notice
• Form N215 - Certificate of service

Use this pack after correctly serving a notice seeking possession under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 where the tenant(s) has failed to pay the rent arrears in the time stipulated in your notice.

The documents contained in this pack give you everything you must use in order to start court proceedings, obtain an order for possession and to obtain an order for the tenant(s) to pay the rent arrears (if they do not issue a defence at court disputing your claim). The pack contains all the court forms, letters and ancillary documents, such as schedules and witness statements, required to follow the court procedure and to claim back your costs, where your tenancy agreement states that the tenant will be liable to pay for them.

You should start the process by using the documents ‘Form N5 - Claim for possession of property (rent arrears only)’, ‘Form N119 – Particulars of claim (rent arrears only)’and ‘Schedule of rent arrears for form N119’. You should then send these completed documents to the court along with the associated covering letter ‘Covering letter for claim form N5 & N119’.

The document notes that come with these documents will explain which of the documents included in this pack you will need to use next or view our flowchart.

If it is unlikely that the tenant(s) will pay the rent arrears (due to their financial circumstances) then you may want to consider obtaining a possession order using the ‘accelerated possession procedure as this process is quicker, but does not order the tenant(s) to pay the rent back. Start with our pack 'Stage one: Before you start court proceedings (accelerated possession)'.

Pack documents:

• Form N5 - Claim for possession of property (rent arrears only)
• Form N119 – Particulars of claim (rent arrears only)
• Schedule of rent arrears for form N119
• Covering letter for claim form N5 & N119
• Updated rent arrears schedule and witness statement for possession hearing
• Schedule of costs for applications to court to recover costs
• Form N215 - Certificate of service
• Possession claim notice: effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the tenant