Landlord Court Forms in Possession Proceedings: N5, N5B, N119, N215 and More

Possession proceedings against a residential tenant in England follow a structured procedural framework set out in Part 55 of the Civil Procedure Rules. The framework is form-driven: at each stage -- issue, service, hearing, enforcement -- specific prescribed forms are used, and using the wrong one (or completing the right one incorrectly) produces delays at best and dismissal at worst. This hub identifies every form a residential landlord encounters in possession proceedings, sets out the current HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) fees, and links to detailed guidance on the principal forms.

Since 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 has reshaped the procedural landscape. Section 21 and the accelerated procedure are obsolete for new cases: the standard procedure (Form N5 with Form N119) is now the only route for almost every private landlord possession claim. Form N5B survives only for a closing window of transitional Section 21 cases.

Key takeaways

• The standard procedure is now the default route. Form N5 (claim form) plus Form N119 (particulars of claim) covers almost all post-1-May-2026 possession claims, brought under Section 8 grounds.
• Form N5B is transitional-only. It remains usable solely where a valid Section 21 notice was served before 1 May 2026, and only if the claim is issued by the earlier of six months after service or 31 July 2026.
• Court fees rose on 13 July 2026. Issuing a possession claim (N5 or N5B) now costs £415 (was £404); a warrant of possession (N325) now costs £152 (was £148).
• PCOL still works, but only for arrears claims. Possession Claim Online covers Section 8 claims based solely on rent arrears (grounds 8, 10 and/or 11); it does not cover other grounds.
• Wales is a different system entirely. The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 uses its own forms; this hub is England-specific.

The structure of a possession claim

Every residential possession claim in England follows the same broad sequence:

• Stage 1 -- Notice. The landlord serves a notice on the tenant: a Section 8 notice on Form 3A for fault-based grounds (the form prescribed from 1 May 2026), or, transitionally for a small remaining window, a Section 21 notice on Form 6A where that notice was served before 1 May 2026.
• Stage 2 -- Notice expiry. The notice runs for the period specified for the ground relied on -- as short as 2 weeks for some grounds (e.g. breach of tenancy, ASB-adjacent grounds), 4 weeks for rent arrears grounds, or up to 4 months for grounds such as sale or landlord occupation.
• Stage 3 -- Court issue. If the tenant has not vacated, the landlord files a possession claim at the County Court using Form N5 (with Form N119 particulars) for the standard procedure, or, only in the transitional Section 21 window, Form N5B for the accelerated procedure.
• Stage 4 -- Service. The court (or the landlord) serves the claim form on the tenant. Form N215 certifies that service took place.
• Stage 5 -- Tenant response. The tenant has 14 days to file a defence: Form N11R for the standard procedure, or the equivalent accelerated-procedure defence form for a transitional N5B claim. Where money is also claimed, Form N9 (and its linked N9A-N9D forms) is used to acknowledge service and respond to the money element.
• Stage 6 -- Hearing. The court hears the case (commonly some weeks after issue, depending on local listing) and makes a possession order if the landlord proves the ground relied on.
• Stage 7 -- Enforcement. If the tenant does not vacate by the date in the possession order, the landlord applies for a warrant of possession on Form N325 (or Form N325A if a suspended order has been breached).
• Stage 8 -- Eviction. County Court bailiffs (or, following transfer, High Court Enforcement Officers) attend the property and recover possession.

The principal forms

Forms used to issue a claim

• Form N5 -- Claim Form for Possession of Property: the standard claim form. Used for all Section 8 claims and any possession claim outside the narrow accelerated-procedure exception. Required for every post-1-May-2026 claim.
• Form N5B -- Accelerated Possession Claim Form: usable only with a Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026, only where there is no claim for rent arrears or other money, and only if issued by the transitional cut-off (see below). Form N5B is a self-contained form -- it carries its own built-in particulars, so unlike Form N5 it is not paired with a separate particulars-of-claim form.
• Form N119 -- Particulars of Claim (rented residential premises): the detailed particulars filed together with Form N5, setting out the ground(s) relied on and the supporting facts (for example, an arrears schedule for rent-arrears grounds).
• Form N121 -- Particulars of Claim (trespassers): used where the occupiers are trespassers rather than tenants, not a possession claim against a tenant at all.
• Form N120 -- Particulars of Claim (mortgaged residential premises): used by mortgage lenders, not landlords.

Forms used in service

• Form N215 -- Certificate of Service: certifies that a notice or court document was served on the tenant, in accordance with CPR Part 6. Often decisive evidence in a contested claim or a default judgment application.

Forms used by the tenant

• Form N11R -- Defence Form (rented residential, standard procedure): the form the tenant uses to defend a standard-procedure possession claim, within 14 days of service.
• Form N9 -- Acknowledgment of Service / Defence Form: used where money is claimed alongside possession (or in a standalone money claim) to acknowledge service and indicate a response. Filing it extends the time for a full defence from 14 to 28 days from service.

Forms used in enforcement

• Form N325 -- Request for Warrant of Possession of Land: requests County Court bailiffs to enforce an outright possession order.
• Form N325A -- Request for Warrant Following a Suspended Order: used where the original order was suspended on terms (typically that the tenant pay arrears in instalments) and the tenant has broken those terms.
• Form N244 -- Application Notice: the general-purpose application form. Used, among other things, to apply under CPR 83.2 for the court's permission to enforce a possession order where more than six years have passed since it was made -- this requires a supporting witness statement explaining the delay, not a separate dedicated form.
• Form N293A -- Combined Certificate of Judgment and Request for Writ: used together with Form N244 when transferring enforcement to the High Court, to obtain a writ of possession instead of a County Court warrant (faster enforcement by High Court Enforcement Officers, at a higher cost).

Court fees in possession proceedings

Court fees are set by HMCTS and reviewed periodically. The Ministry of Justice increased a wide range of civil court fees from 13 July 2026 -- most by around 2.6% in line with inflation, with a smaller number of fees rising further to catch up with accumulated inflation. The current fees relevant to a residential possession claim are:

Fee	Amount (from 13 July 2026)	Previous amount
Issue a possession claim, County Court (Form N5 or N5B)	£415	£404
Issue a possession claim, High Court	£559	£545
Warrant of possession (Form N325 or N325A)	£152	£148
General application on notice (Form N244)	£321	£313
General application by consent or without notice (Form N244)	£126	£123
Permission to issue proceedings	£69	£67
Application to vary or suspend a judgment, order, or warrant	£16	£15
Sealing a writ of possession (High Court transfer)	£82	£80

These figures reflect HMCTS's civil court fees schedule (EX50/EX50A) as amended from 13 July 2026. Always check gov.uk for the fee in force on the day you file -- fees are periodically reviewed and some gov.uk transactional guidance pages take a little time to catch up with a fee change.

Fees can be waived or reduced under the Help with Fees scheme for applicants on a low income, though most private landlords do not qualify. In an undefended claim, the issue fee is normally recoverable from the tenant as part of the costs awarded alongside the possession order (and any money judgment), though enforcing a costs order against a tenant with no assets is often unproductive in practice.

Possession Claim Online (PCOL)

HMCTS operates an online portal, Possession Claim Online (PCOL), for issuing certain possession claims. PCOL is suitable for:

• Claims against a tenant based solely on rent arrears under Section 8 grounds 8, 10 and/or 11.
• Claims for assured tenancies of residential property in England (not Wales).
• Claims where all the necessary supporting documents are available and there is no other complication.

PCOL is not available for non-arrears Section 8 claims, multi-defendant claims with complications, claims requiring a litigation friend, or cases engaging the Human Rights Act 1998. It is faster and less paper-heavy than the postal route, but the claim still has to be served on the tenant and progressed through the standard hearing procedure in the usual way. The court fee is the same whichever route is used.

Wales -- different forms apply

Wales operates an entirely separate residential tenancy framework under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (in force from 1 December 2022). Possession claims relating to property in Wales use Welsh-specific forms and procedures, distinct from everything on this page. Landlords with property in Wales should read our Possession in Wales guide for the substantively different framework. The forms covered here are England-specific.

Why getting forms right matters

Procedural errors in possession proceedings tend to produce one of three consequences:

1. Delays. A defective form needs correcting or resubmitting. A claim with inadequate particulars may be adjourned to the next available hearing date, adding weeks of delay during which arrears keep accumulating and the property cannot be re-let.

2. Strike-out. A claim with serious procedural defects can be struck out. The landlord then has to re-issue -- and pay the issue fee again -- after fixing the underlying defect.

3. Costs penalties. Courts can order a landlord to pay the tenant's costs where the landlord's procedural failures have caused unnecessary work or wasted court time.

Common errors include: using the wrong claim form for the notice served (Form N5 after a Section 21 notice, or vice versa outside the narrow transitional window); citing a ground on Form N119 that was not set out in the underlying Section 8 notice; vague or incomplete particulars; missing supporting documents (deposit protection certificate, rent schedule, tenancy agreement); defective service, with no Form N215 to evidence it; and a missing or incorrect statement of truth.

Solicitor representation vs self-representation

Possession proceedings can be conducted without a solicitor -- the forms are freely available, the procedure is documented on gov.uk, and courts are generally accommodating to litigants in person. Many landlords run straightforward, undefended claims themselves.

Professional representation is often worth the cost where the tenant has filed a defence or counterclaim, the case involves complex or combined grounds, there is a deposit-protection issue or other potential procedural defence, the sums or property value at stake justify it, or the landlord does not have the time to run the case properly. Solicitor costs vary considerably by complexity and firm; get a clear quote before instructing anyone, and factor in the court fee separately.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 and the transitional window

The principal procedural changes taking effect from 1 May 2026, under the Renters' Rights Act 2025:

• Section 21 abolished. No new Section 21 notices can be served after 1 May 2026. All assured shorthold tenancies became periodic assured tenancies on that date.
• Transitional cut-off for existing Section 21 notices. Where a valid Section 21 notice was served before 1 May 2026, court proceedings based on it must be issued by the earlier of: six months after the notice was served, or 31 July 2026. A notice whose earliest possession-proceedings date falls on or after 1 August 2026 can no longer be used to start a claim -- gov.uk guidance is explicit that any such attempt is likely to be dismissed.
• Accelerated procedure retired alongside it. Form N5B and the accelerated procedure are available only within that transitional window. Once it closes, Form N5 (standard procedure) with Form N119 is the only route for every landlord-initiated possession claim.
• Section 8 grounds substantially rebalanced. The grounds in the Housing Act 1988 (as amended) now include new grounds such as 1A (sale) and 4A (student HMOs), alongside changes to existing grounds -- notably, Ground 8 (mandatory rent arrears) now requires arrears of 3 months' rent (monthly tenancies) or 13 weeks' rent (weekly/fortnightly tenancies), owed both at notice and at the hearing, with a 4-week notice period.

See our Renters' Rights Act 2025 guide for the full framework, and our Section 8 notice guide for the post-RRA grounds in detail.

Quick reference: which form do I need?

• Section 8 claim (any ground), post-1-May-2026: Form N5 + Form N119 + supporting documents. Form N215 to certify service. After a possession order: Form N325 (or N325A) if the tenant does not vacate.
• Transitional Section 21 claim (notice served before 1 May 2026, claim issued by the earlier of 6 months from service or 31 July 2026): Form N5B (self-contained, no separate particulars form needed).
• Trespassers on the property: Form N5 + Form N121 (not a claim against a tenant).
• Tenant defending a standard-procedure claim: Form N11R. Form N9 (and N9A-N9D) where money is also claimed.
• Application during proceedings, or permission to enforce after 6 years: Form N244.
• Warrant after a possession order: Form N325 (outright order) or N325A (breached suspended order).
• Transfer to the High Court for enforcement: Form N244 for permission, then Form N293A to obtain the writ.

This is legal information, not legal advice

This page explains the current court-forms framework for residential possession claims in England in general terms; it does not take account of your specific circumstances, and reading it does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Tenancy Agreement Service is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Court fees and procedural rules are reviewed periodically -- always check the current position on gov.uk before filing. If your case is defended, involves a counterclaim, or turns on a fine point of procedure, get advice from a practising solicitor before you act.

Authoritative sources

• Civil court fees (EX50) -- GOV.UK
• Court and tribunal fees: updates from July 2026 -- GOV.UK
• Repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026 -- GOV.UK
• Giving notice of possession to tenants before 1 May 2026 -- GOV.UK
• Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords and letting agents -- GOV.UK
• Property possession forms (collection) -- GOV.UK
• Possession Claim Online (PCOL) -- GOV.UK
• Civil Procedure Rules Part 55 -- Justice UK
• Renters' Rights Act 2025 (c. 26) -- legislation.gov.uk
• Housing Act 1988 -- legislation.gov.uk
• Our eviction notices guide
• Our Section 8 notice guide
• Our Renters' Rights Act 2025 guide