Tenant Not Paying Rent? What You Can Do

Quick answer

Section 21 ended in England on 1 May 2026. To get your property back you now serve a section 8 notice on Form 3A and name a ground.
Ground 8 is mandatory but needs at least 3 months' rent owed (13 weeks if weekly or fortnightly), both when you serve notice and at the hearing.
Before court, look for money you can recover: a guarantor, your insurance, a Universal Credit direct payment, or the deposit when the tenancy ends.
Never change the locks or cut off services. Illegal eviction is a criminal offence, with fines of up to £40,000.

If your tenant stops paying rent in England, talk to them first, then check whether a guarantor, your insurance or Universal Credit can cover it. If the arrears continue, serve a section 8 notice on Form 3A. Section 21 ended on 1 May 2026, and the mandatory rent-arrears ground now needs three months' arrears. Never change the locks.

What changed on 1 May 2026

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 changed how landlords in England get a property back. Every assured shorthold tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy on 1 May 2026, and section 21 "no fault" notices no longer exist. To evict a tenant who is not paying, you now serve a section 8 notice and prove a ground in court.

If you served a notice before 1 May 2026 and never went to court, it is almost certainly spent: old notices could only be used until 31 July 2026 at the latest. You would need to start again.

For the wider changes, including rent increases, deposits and pets, see our guide to the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

This guide covers England only. Wales has its own system under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules too.

Step by step: what to do when a tenant stops paying

Step 1: Talk to your tenant, and keep a record

Find out why the rent has stopped. A lost job, a benefits delay or a simple banking mistake each calls for a different response. Call or email, or ask your letting agent to.

If the tenant wants to catch up, agree a repayment plan in writing. Whatever happens, keep every message, rent statement and note of every call. If this ends in court, that record is your evidence.

Step 2: Look for money you can recover without going to court

A guarantor. If someone guaranteed the tenancy, contact them now.
Your insurance. If you have rent guarantee or landlord insurance, read the policy's claim conditions as soon as rent is missed.
Universal Credit. If your tenant claims Universal Credit and owes 2 months' rent or more, you can ask the Department for Work and Pensions to pay the housing element to you directly, or to deduct an amount towards the arrears. You apply online through the government's Apply for a Direct Rent Payment service. Your tenant has up to 14 days to object, and arrears deductions are capped at 15% of their standard allowance.
The deposit. When the tenancy ends, unpaid rent can come out of the deposit, either by agreement with the tenant or through the deposit scheme's dispute service. You cannot simply keep it.

Step 3: Serve a section 8 notice on the right ground

If the arrears carry on, you serve notice on Form 3A and name the ground you rely on. Three grounds deal with rent:

Ground 8 — serious arrears (mandatory). Your tenant must owe at least 3 months' rent if they pay monthly, or 13 weeks' rent if they pay weekly or fortnightly. They must owe it on the day you give notice and on the day of the hearing. Notice period: 4 weeks. If you prove it, the court must order possession.
Ground 10 — any arrears (discretionary). You can use it before arrears reach 3 months, but the court will only order possession if it thinks that is reasonable. Notice period: 4 weeks.
Ground 11 — persistent late payment (discretionary). For a tenant who repeatedly pays late, even if they catch up. Notice period: 4 weeks.

Three things catch landlords out:

Paying down defeats Ground 8. If the tenant clears the arrears, or gets them below the threshold, by the hearing, Ground 8 falls away.
Universal Credit delays do not count. If your tenant is behind only because their Universal Credit has not been paid, you cannot evict them on Ground 8.
Your deposit paperwork must be in order. The court will only order possession if the deposit is protected in a government-approved scheme (or returned to the tenant) and you gave the tenant the required information about it.

Keep proof of how and when you served the notice: fill in form N215, or write "served by" with your name and the date on your copy. You usually have up to 12 months from serving the notice to apply to court.

Step 4: Apply to court for possession

If the tenant has not paid or left when the notice runs out, you apply to the county court. Send forms N5 and N119 to your local court that deals with housing possession, or use the government's Possession Claim Online service, which is available where the claim is about rent arrears.

At the hearing the judge can:

make an outright possession order, which gives the tenant a date to leave
make a suspended order, which lets the tenant stay if they keep to the payments it sets
make a money order for the rent arrears, court fees and your legal costs
adjourn the case, or dismiss it, in which case the tenant stays and you would have to start again

Step 5: If the tenant still does not leave

A possession order does not let you remove anyone yourself. If the tenant stays past the date in the order, you apply for a warrant for possession (form N325, or N325A if they break a suspended order made for arrears). A county court bailiff then carries out the eviction on a set date.

You can instead ask the court for permission to transfer the case to the High Court, where a High Court enforcement officer acts on a writ of possession.

Getting the money back

Getting the property back and getting the money back are separate problems.

If you go to court for possession, ask for a money order for the arrears at the same time. If the tenant has already left owing rent, you can bring a separate claim for the debt in the county court.

Before you issue a money claim, write to the tenant (or the guarantor) setting out what is owed, how you worked it out and what you want. The court expects this and gives a tenant about 14 days to reply in a straightforward case. Leave it too long and you lose the right altogether: a claim for rent arrears must be brought within six years of the rent falling due.

A judgment is only worth something if the tenant can pay.

What you must never do

However frustrating it gets, do not take matters into your own hands. The government lists these as harassment or illegal eviction:

changing the locks, or threatening to
stopping services such as electricity, or access to heating controls
withholding keys
threats or physical violence
opening or taking the tenant's post
evicting without the proper notice, without a court warrant or writ, or using anyone other than a court-appointed bailiff

Illegal eviction is a criminal offence. You can be fined up to £40,000, and the tenant can claim damages or apply for a rent repayment order against you.

How long it takes to evict a tenant for rent arrears

There are two stretches: the notice and the court process.

The notice on any of the rent-arrears grounds is 4 weeks. The court stage takes much longer. Across England and Wales, the median time from a landlord's court claim to repossession was 27.1 weeks in April to June 2026, according to the Ministry of Justice. A defended claim, a suspended order or a mistake on the notice can add months.

What protections tenants have

If you are the tenant, or want to understand the other side, these are the main protections:

You can only be evicted after the right notice and a court order, carried out by a court bailiff or enforcement officer.
Paying off arrears, or getting below 3 months (13 weeks), before the hearing defeats Ground 8.
Arrears caused only by unpaid Universal Credit do not count towards Ground 8.
On Grounds 10 and 11 the court must think possession is reasonable, and it can suspend an order while you pay.
Harassment and illegal eviction are offences, and you can claim compensation.

Questions people ask

What can I do if my tenant is not paying rent?

Talk to the tenant first and agree a repayment plan in writing if you can. Contact any guarantor and check your insurance. If the tenant claims Universal Credit and owes 2 months or more, ask for direct payment. If the arrears continue, serve a section 8 notice on Form 3A and, if needed, apply to court.

How do I get rid of a tenant who is not paying rent?

Serve a section 8 notice on Form 3A naming a rent-arrears ground, wait the 4-week notice period, then apply to the county court for a possession order. If the tenant still stays after the date in the order, apply for a warrant so a court bailiff can evict. Never remove a tenant yourself or change the locks.

Can I still use a section 21 notice in England?

No. Section 21 was abolished in England on 1 May 2026, when all assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies. Notices served before that date could only be taken to court until 31 July 2026 at the latest. To evict now, you serve a section 8 notice and prove a ground in court.

How many months of arrears before I can evict a tenant?

For the mandatory ground, Ground 8, your tenant must owe at least 3 months' rent if they pay monthly, or 13 weeks' if they pay weekly or fortnightly, both when you serve notice and at the hearing. You can use Ground 10 for smaller arrears, but then the court decides whether eviction is reasonable.

Can I change the locks if my tenant refuses to pay?

No. Changing the locks, or threatening to, is harassment or illegal eviction, even if the tenant owes months of rent. Illegal eviction is a criminal offence, with fines of up to £40,000, and the tenant can claim damages. Only a court bailiff or High Court enforcement officer can remove a tenant, after a possession order.

How long does it take to evict a tenant for rent arrears?

The notice period is 4 weeks, then the court process. Across England and Wales, the median time from a landlord's court claim to repossession was 27.1 weeks in April to June 2026, according to Ministry of Justice figures. A defended claim, a suspended order or a faulty notice can make it longer.

What if my tenant's Universal Credit has not been paid?

Arrears caused only by Universal Credit not being paid do not count towards Ground 8, so you cannot use that ground to evict for them. Once arrears reach 2 months, you can ask the Department for Work and Pensions to pay the housing element to you directly, through its Apply for a Direct Rent Payment service.