The N5B accelerated possession claim: filling it in, the fee, and which court to send it to

In England, new N5B accelerated possession applications have effectively stopped: 31 July 2026 was the last day to apply, and current government guidance says landlords cannot usually apply even where a valid pre-1 May 2026 section 21 notice was served. Wales is different: the accelerated route remains live for Welsh Renting Homes notices, so most practical N5B questions now mean an already-filed English claim or a Welsh claim.

What is the accelerated possession procedure?

In England, the accelerated possession procedure is now mainly relevant only to already-filed section 21 claims, because “31 July 2026 was the last date on which you could make an application” and GOV.UK now says landlords “cannot usually apply to the court for an accelerated possession order, even if they gave you a valid section 21 notice before 1 May 2026.” The accelerated possession order was the section 21 accelerated procedure: a possession-only county court claim on form N5B, usually decided on the papers rather than at a hearing. CPR 55.17 says that, unless the claim is struck out or listed, “the judge will make an order for possession without requiring the attendance of the parties.” Wales still has a live accelerated procedure for Renting Homes notices, dealt with separately below. Scotland has no N5B route because private eviction applications go to the First-tier Tribunal; Northern Ireland also has no N5B-style CPR accelerated possession track.

What is the difference between form N5 and N5B, and can you use N5B for a Section 8?

N5B is the accelerated possession claim form for a possession-only paper claim, while N5 is the standard possession claim form used with particulars of claim, and a section 8 claim should use N5 and N119 rather than N5B. GOV.UK describes N5B as the form to “make an accelerated claim for possession of a property you own in England,” but N5 is different: “Use this form with a ‘particulars of claim’ form to gain possession of a property you own.” For section 8 after 1 May 2026, GOV.UK is explicit: “You will need to fill in the paper standard possession claim form (N5) and the particulars of claim form (N119).” The confusing point is that one N5B landing page refers to pre-1-May-2026 section 8 or section 21 notices, but CPR 55.11 confines the accelerated Section II procedure to a section 21 claim, so N5B is not the normal route for a Section 8 accelerated possession order.

How much does an accelerated possession claim cost?

An accelerated possession claim costs £415 to issue in the county court, for the English N5B route where it still matters and for current Welsh accelerated possession practice. GOV.UK’s accelerated possession guidance states: “It costs £415 to apply.” That figure replaced the old £404 possession fee, and MHCLG guidance records that the “Fee for a possession order changed from £404 to £415.” There is no cheaper accelerated-only court fee: the court issue fee is the possession claim fee. Solicitors’ fees are separate and not fixed by law; one market example from Mercers quotes “£1,100 plus vat plus the court fee” to prepare and file an accelerated possession claim, but that is a firm’s price, not a tariff. If the claim later needs enforcement, a warrant or transfer-up fee is a different fee and is not included in the £415 application cost.

How do you pay the N5B court fee?

You pay the N5B court fee in the way the form or court allows, commonly by cheque or postal order with the paper claim, and the current fee to enclose is £415. The English N5B form includes the payment declaration “I attached a cheque or postal order, made payable to ‘HMCTS’,” while general civil-fee guidance says that if paying by cheque “make it payable to ‘HM Courts and Tribunals Service’.” For an N5B claim, follow the wording on the current form or any local court instruction if it tells you something different. The Wales notes also allow Fee Account or Help with Fees references: “If you are using Fee Account (PBA) or applying for Help with Fees (HWF) please include your reference number, otherwise you should enter the fee amount and enclose the fee with your application.” Possession Claim Online is not the N5B route; its possession use is limited to specified rent or mortgage arrears claims.

How do you complete the N5B claim form?

You complete the N5B by filling every relevant section, attaching the documents the form asks for, and using the correct national form: N5B England for an already-issued or transitional English section 21 matter, and N5B Wales for a live Welsh accelerated claim. CPR 55.13 is blunt: “All relevant sections of the form must be completed.” For England, GOV.UK says to “Send the completed form to the nearest court that deals with housing possession,” though the filing-location rule is discussed below. For Wales, the N5BA notes give practical presentation instructions: “If you are filling in the claim form by hand, please use black ink and write in block capitals.” There is no useful official completed N5B example that replaces reading the form question by question; the safest method is to answer each numbered paragraph, cross-reference each exhibit clearly, and avoid adding rent arrears or damages because accelerated possession is possession-only.

What do you put in the claim number, issue date and court fee boxes on the N5B?

Before submission, leave the claim number and issue date for the court, but complete the court fee/payment part with £415 or the correct PBA or Help with Fees reference. The Wales N5B makes this clear by labelling the field “Claim number (completed by the court),” and the same practical answer is used for an unissued English N5B even though the 2026 English form’s box simply says “Claim number.” The court allocates the claim number when it issues the claim; the issue date is also a court date, not a date the landlord invents before filing. For the fee box, the Welsh N5BA notes say: “If you are using Fee Account (PBA) or applying for Help with Fees (HWF) please include your reference number, otherwise you should enter the fee amount and enclose the fee with your application.” If paying by cheque or postal order, use the form’s current payee wording.

What if you cannot find copies of every tenancy agreement the N5B asks for?

If you cannot attach every written tenancy agreement the N5B asks for, the accelerated route may fail and the safer route is usually the standard possession procedure, because the form says: “You must attach a copy of each such tenancy agreement and mark it ‘A1’, ‘A2’ etc.” CPR 55.12 requires the relevant tenancies to have been written agreements, but it does not create a substitute-document procedure for missing copies, and CPR 55.13 still says “All relevant sections of the form must be completed.” For an executor-landlord, inherited papers are not treated as a special exception on the face of the rule. Market guidance is more direct than the rules: Property118 says “The lack of the original tenancy will exclude you from the accelerated procedure,” and the British Landlords Association says that if the agreement “has been lost or oral, a fixed-date eviction claim should be issued.” That is not a court guarantee, but it is the practical risk. Abodient keeps each tenancy's signed agreement on file against the property record, which is exactly the document an accelerated claim needs attached and marked as an exhibit.

Which county court do you send the N5B to?

For an N5B, use the county court hearing centre that deals with housing possession for the property address, even though the CPR is wider and says an accelerated claim “may be brought in any County Court hearing centre.” GOV.UK’s N5B England page gives the practical filing instruction: “Send your form to the county court nearest to the property you are claiming possession for.” The apparent conflict matters when the court finder shows several county courts: choose the one whose housing possession work covers the property, not simply the physically closest civil counter if it does not handle possession claims. In Wales, CPR 55.40 says that if the claim is issued in a hearing centre that does not serve the dwelling, “the claim is to be sent, after issue, to the hearing centre serving that address.” Scotland does not use N5B; private possession applications go to the First-tier Tribunal.

How do you submit the N5B, and how many copies does the court need?

Submit a paper N5B with one copy for the court and one copy for each defendant in England; in Wales, also keep your own complete copy because the Welsh notes expressly require one for yourself. CPR 6.4 says that where the court serves the claim form, “the claimant must, in addition to filing a copy for the court, provide a copy for each defendant to be served.” CPR 55.13 then explains why those defendant copies matter: “The court will serve the claim form by first class post.” The Wales N5BA notes add the practical copy set: “Copy the completed claim form and annexes so that you have one copy for yourself, one copy for the court and one copy for each defendant.” Do not file N5B through Possession Claim Online; the online possession practice direction applies only where “it is brought under Sections I or IV of Part 55,” not the accelerated Section II route.

Can the tenant defend an accelerated possession claim or get extra time to move out?

A tenant can defend an accelerated possession claim, but they normally stop it only by showing the landlord has not followed the rules; extra time after an order is normally 14 days and cannot exceed six weeks even for exceptional hardship. GOV.UK’s tenant guidance says: “You must complete and return the defence form or statement to the court within 14 days of receiving it,” and “You can only stop accelerated possession if you can prove your landlord has not followed the rules.” If the papers are in order, CPR 55.17 says the judge makes the order “without requiring the attendance of the parties.” The hard cap on time comes from section 89 of the Housing Act 1980: possession must not be postponed beyond 14 days unless exceptional hardship is shown, and “shall not in any event be postponed to a date later than six weeks after the making of the order.” Being mid-house-purchase is not itself a defence; it is, at most, evidence for extra time.

How does accelerated possession work in Wales?

In Wales, accelerated possession is still a live paper-based route for certain Renting Homes notices, using N5B Wales, and it is not affected by England’s closure of new section 21 N5B applications. GOV.UK says to use the Welsh N5B only where “notice was served on or after 1 December 2022.” Welsh Government guidance states that a landlord can use accelerated possession “if they issued a section 171, 173,186, 192 or 194 notice and they are not claiming rent arrears.” The claim is possession-only: the Welsh CPR amendment says “the only purpose of the claim is to recover possession of the dwelling and no other claim is made.” If the claim is not struck out or listed, the judge must make the order “without requiring the attendance of the parties.” The £415 fee applies, despite older Welsh guidance still showing £404. Extra time is governed by Welsh statute: possession cannot usually be postponed beyond 14 days, and never beyond six weeks.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Giving notice of possession to tenants before 1 May 2026 — “31 July 2026 was the last date on which you could make an application.” Source
• GOV.UK, Private renting evictions: accelerated possession — “Landlords cannot usually apply to the court for an accelerated possession order, even if they gave you a valid section 21 notice before 1 May 2026.” Source
• CPR 55.17 — “Except where rules 55.16(1)(b) or (c) apply, the judge will make an order for possession without requiring the attendance of the parties.” Source
• First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, Evictions and civil proceedings — “From 1 December 2017, applications by private landlords concerning eviction/possession of property must be made to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber).” Source
• GOV.UK, Form N5B England — “Use this form to make an accelerated claim for possession of a property you own in England.” Source
• GOV.UK, Form N5 — “Use this form with a ‘particulars of claim’ form to gain possession of a property you own.” Source
• GOV.UK, Repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026 — “You will need to fill in the paper standard possession claim form (N5) and the particulars of claim form (N119).” Source
• GOV.UK, Accelerated possession orders — “It costs £415 to apply.” Source
• GOV.UK, Repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026 — “Fee for a possession order changed from £404 to £415.” Source
• Mercers Solicitors, Residential landlord and tenant disputes — “£1,100 plus vat plus the court fee.” Source
• Form N5B England — “I attached a cheque or postal order, made payable to ‘HMCTS’.” Source
• GOV.UK, Pay a civil or family court fee — “make it payable to ‘HM Courts and Tribunals Service’.” Source
• Wales N5BA Notes — “If you are using Fee Account (PBA) or applying for Help with Fees (HWF) please include your reference number, otherwise you should enter the fee amount and enclose the fee with your application.” Source
• CPR 55.13 — “All relevant sections of the form must be completed.” Source
• GOV.UK, Accelerated possession orders — “Send the completed form to the nearest court that deals with housing possession.” Source
• Wales N5BA Notes — “If you are filling in the claim form by hand, please use black ink and write in block capitals.” Source
• Form N5B Wales — “Claim number (completed by the court).” Source
• Form N5B England — “You must attach a copy of each such tenancy agreement and mark it ‘A1’, ‘A2’ etc.” Source
• Property118, Tenancy agreement lost — “The lack of the original tenancy will exclude you from the accelerated procedure.” Source
• British Landlords Association, accelerated possession claim — “If the tenancy agreement has been lost or oral, a fixed-date eviction claim should be issued.” Source
• CPR 55.11 — “may be brought in any County Court hearing centre.” Source
• GOV.UK, Form N5B England — “Send your form to the county court nearest to the property you are claiming possession for.” Source
• CPR 55.40 — “the claim is to be sent, after issue, to the hearing centre serving that address.” Source
• CPR 6.4 — “the claimant must, in addition to filing a copy for the court, provide a copy for each defendant to be served.” Source
• CPR 55.13 — “The court will serve the claim form by first class post.” Source
• Wales N5BA Notes — “Copy the completed claim form and annexes so that you have one copy for yourself, one copy for the court and one copy for each defendant.” Source
• Practice Direction 55B — “it is brought under Sections I or IV of Part 55.” Source
• GOV.UK, Private renting evictions: accelerated possession — “You must complete and return the defence form or statement to the court within 14 days of receiving it.” Source
• GOV.UK, Private renting evictions: accelerated possession — “You can only stop accelerated possession if you can prove your landlord has not followed the rules.” Source
• Housing Act 1980 s.89 — “shall not in any event be postponed to a date later than six weeks after the making of the order.” Source
• GOV.UK, Form N5B Wales — “notice was served on or after 1 December 2022.” Source
• Welsh Government, possession action process guidance — “if they issued a section 171, 173,186, 192 or 194 notice and they are not claiming rent arrears.” Source
• Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2022, rule 22 — “the only purpose of the claim is to recover possession of the dwelling and no other claim is made.” Source
• Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2022, rule 22 — “without requiring the attendance of the parties.” Source