Landlord’s Guide to Evicting a Tenant in East London

Evicting a tenant can feel daunting, and as a landlord you may have a lot of questions. For example, how long does it take to evict your tenants, and how much does it cost?

If you have to evict a tenant from your Leyton or Gants Hill rental property, it can be uncomfortable to find yourself in this situation. However, you’re not the first to go through it. Barking and Dagenham recorded the higher number of possession claims in 2024, as reported in The Standard, with Redbridge, Newham and Waltham Forest also reported high figures.

Knowing what’s ahead can alleviate at least some of the stress. Read our landlord’s guide to evicting a tenant in East London to find out what to do.

Eviction rules changing under the Renters’ Rights Bill

Significant changes lie ahead for eviction due to the new Renters Rights Bill, which is due to pass into law either in late autumn of 2025, or early 2026.

Major proposed changes that affect eviction include:

• No more section 21 notices – Landlords will have to use a section 8 notice to evict a tenant thereafter. The section 8 grounds for eviction have been reformed and expanded to include common reasons for section 21 evictions, such as to sell up or repossess the property to live in it. While notice periods vary, it will be four months in the two cases mentioned above.
• All tenancies to be periodic – There will no longer be fixed term tenancies, rather, tenants will live under a periodic agreement with a protected, 12-month period where the property cannot be repossessed by a landlord looking to move in or sell it.

Ultimately, landlords will have to state a reason for eviction and submit an appropriate section 8 notice in all cases. Some of these grounds are mandatory, while others are at the discretion of the courts

The process for evicting tenants

This is the process for evicting tenants legally in the UK under assured shorthold tenancies, under the Housing Act 1988. Landlords must avoid illegally evicting tenants or harassing them, at all costs. You may also struggle to evict if the tenant’s deposit is not protected.

Want to know more? Deposit disputes often arise at the end of difficult tenancies — find out what to do if your tenant is not paying rent and how the process of evicting a tenant in East London works.

1. Serve a notice of eviction

Landlords must give written notice by serving one of two eviction notices depending on the grounds for eviction, though the Renters’ Rights Bill is due to revise the rules soon.

Section 21 notice

You can serve a Section 21 notice using Form 6a or your own notice including the same facts, without giving a reason. You must give 2 months’ notice or the same notice as the rental period – tenants who pay quarterly need 3 months’ notice, for example.

Landlords can issue this notice if there’s a break clause, to end periodic tenancies or after the end of a fixed-term tenancy agreement. However, you can’t serve it in the first 4 months or the tenancy, or before the end of the fixed term.

Section 8 notice

If your tenant doesn’t pay rent, commits a crime or otherwise breaches the terms of the tenancy agreement, you can serve a Section 8 notice using Form 3. The grounds you can use to evict a tenant this way carry minimum notice periods between 2 weeks and 2 months.

2. Hold onto your eviction notice

Retain your certification of service form (N215), marking the date it was served on the document. You may need it to apply for a court order to evict the tenants.

3. Apply for an order of possession

If the tenant does not leave the property by the end of the notice period, you can apply for an order of possession for £404. There are two ways to do it.

Standard possession order

Landlords can apply to the court for a standard possession order, and this is the only option if you are claiming unpaid rent. Take note, you must send your application to your local court by post if the tenants have broken the tenancy agreement.

Accelerated possession order

If you aren’t seeking payment of rent arrears, the accelerated possession order can be faster and often avoids a court date.

4. Wait for the court’s process to finish

Once the court approves it, your tenants have 14 days to challenge the eviction. The judge will either issue a possession order or if their challenge seems robust, arrange a court hearing.

How court hearings for eviction work

The court can dismiss your hearing, adjourn it to another day, or make an order instructing the tenants on their required actions.

Want to know more? Deposit disputes often arise at the end of difficult tenancies — find out what to do if your tenant is not paying rent and how the process of evicting a tenant in East London works.

Want to find out more? Thorough tenant screening can prevent many of these situations — learn about how long tenant referencing takes and why changing letting agents might be the right move if your current agent isn’t managing these issues effectively.

How different court orders function

There are several common outcomes for eviction proceedings:

• Money order – the court collects money from the tenants if they don’t pay you as agreed.
• Outright possession order – your tenants must leave in 14 or 28 days.
• Suspended repossession – tenants can continue living in the property if they fulfil set conditions.
• Possession order with a money judgment – along with the possession order, the tenant must pay an amount covering for example, rent arrears and legal fees.

5. Apply for a warrant of possession

If the tenants don’t leave the property in line with the possession order, you can apply for bailiffs to evict the tenants. at a cost of £148. Landlords can apply using Form N325, or the Possession Claim Online service if you used it for the order of possession.

The court will issue a warrant number and EX96 notice of appointment stating the eviction date. Don’t forget to complete and return the form, or the bailiffs will be cancelled.

Understand how to evict a tenant?

If you need advice on evicting a tenant from your property in East London, Highcastle Estates can help. Offering a bespoke service for landlords in Stratford, Barking, Ilford and the surrounding areas, we understand every stage of the process.