Regaining possession of a privately rented property

The introduction of the Renters’ Right Act 2025 means that the rules about private renting (GOV.UK) are changing on 1 May 2026. Check how this will affect what to do if you want to evict a tenant by visiting renting your property: guide for landlords and letting agents (GOV.UK). The government also has guidance pages for regaining possession and templates for notices that you can use. If you are unsure about how to regain possession of your property then you should seek appropriate legal advice to ensure it is done correctly because you must follow strict procedures if you want your tenants to leave your property.

The most common types of tenancies are assured shorthold tenancies, and there are the two types:

• 'Periodic’ tenancies - these run week by week or month by month with no fixed end date
• Fixed-term tenancies - these run for a set amount of time

The exact procedure will depend on the tenancy agreement and its terms. For further information please visit tenany agreements: a guide for landlords (GOV.UK)

You may be guilty of harassing or illegally evicting your tenants if you do not follow the correct procedures. For further information please visit evicting tenants in England: harrassment and illegal evictions (GOV.UK). Punishment for such offences includes unlimited fines, financial penalties of up to £40,000 and/or a custodial sentence of up to two years in prison. You may also commit an offence and be fined (GOV.UK) heavily if you do not follow the new rules when seeking possession for offences such as:

• Claiming to let a property on a fixed-term tenancy instead of a rolling tenancy, for example, by adding an end date  
• Claiming to end a tenancy verbally  
• Requiring a tenancy to be ended verbally  
• Using a possession ground in a section eight notice, when you do not reasonably believe that a possession order will be granted by the court on that ground  
• Attempting to end a tenancy using a ‘notice to quit’ or purported notice of possession. This can include texts or WhatsApp messages
• Claiming to give a notice that allows possession proceedings to begin, but it is not valid under section eight even if no explicit reference is made to section eight in the document 
• Claiming to bring a tenancy to an end or require a tenant to leave (whether or not it refers to a ground for possession) and is not a claim form or a document produced for the purpose of court proceedings  
• Failing to give a tenant written notice that a specified ground might be used where this is required by law - for example, Ground 1B, sale of dwelling/house after rent-to-buy agreement   
• Failing to give a written statement of terms containing the information required by regulations  
• Fail to give existing tenants an information sheet which tells them about the changes made by the Act on or after 1 May 2026  

Further information:

• For guidance on the process a landlord must take when seeking possession before 1 May 2026 please visit, giving notice of possession to tenants before 1 May 2026 (GOV.UK)
• To understand the process a landlord must take when they seek possession from 1 May 2026, please visit repossessing your privately rented property on or after 1 May 2026 (GOV.UK)
• To see an overview of the enforcement measure in place should a landlord or Letting Agent not seek possession correctly, visit enforcement measures for landlords (GOV.UK)
• For an overview of the Renters Rights Act 2025, visit Renters' Rights Act: an overview for landlords (GOV.UK)
• For guidance on seeking possession including notice types, information on court proceedings and on harassment and illegal evictions, please visit evicting tenants in England (GOV.UK)
• For template notices for seeking possession, please visit assured tenancy forms (GOV.UK)
• For help on the steps a landlord can take to resolve an issue with their tenant, please visit resolving issues with your tenant (GOV.UK)
• For assistance on what a landlord can do when a tenant commits antisocial behaviour, please visit dealing with antisocial behaviour (GOV.UK)
• For guidance on what to do if a landlord needs their tenant to leave visit ending a tenancy (GOV.UK)
• For the process a landlord can follow to end a tenancy if their tenant wants to leave, please visit If your tenant wants to leave (GOV.UK)
• If you are seeking guidance on the procedures that landlords must follow when they need a tenant to leave their property, visit evicting tenants overview (GOV.UK)
• For guidance on what landlords need to do when giving their tenant a notice to evict them, please visit giving notice to evict tenants (GOV.UK)
• The process landlords need to follow to evict their tenant in the county court can be seen by visiting standard possession claims (GOV.UK)
• For guidance on what happens at court hearings for possession and the decisions a judge could make please visit possession hearings and orders (GOV.UK)
• For guidance on what landlords need to do if a tenant does not leave the property after a court order and they still want to evict them, please visit If tenants do not follow the possession order (GOV.UK)

Last updated: 18/12/2025 10:06