Your tenant will not leave: what happens after the notice expires, and after the possession order

In England, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changed the private assured-tenancy route from 1 May 2026, so old Section 21 assumptions now mislead landlords at the exact point they need a lawful possession route. The practical sequence is notice, court claim, possession order, then bailiff or authorised High Court enforcement—not landlord self-help.

What can a landlord do about a tenant who refuses to leave?

The quoted £7,000 penalty is for Renters’ Rights Act paperwork breaches, but actually forcing a tenant out can mean a civil penalty up to £40,000, because section 16I says a paperwork penalty “must not be more than £7,000” while the Protection from Eviction Act says the illegal-eviction penalty “must not be more than £40,000”. A landlord who wants to get rid of tenants who will not leave must either negotiate a voluntary surrender or use possession proceedings, because it is not lawful for the owner to enforce possession “otherwise than by proceedings in the court”. Changing locks, forcing entry or using threats is not cured by ownership: the Criminal Law Act says having a right to possession does not give “lawful authority for the use or threat of violence”. Cash-for-keys is a deal, not a statutory procedure: no law sets a cap, minimum payment, prescribed form or cooling-off period. In practice, the strongest landlords are not the angriest ones; they are the ones who keep every step boring, dated and court-ready.

The date in the agreement has passed and the tenant has not moved out, so are they still a tenant?

Yes, the occupier is still a tenant, not a squatter, because fixed terms in assured tenancies are now void and the statute says fixed-term provisions are “of no effect”. The old idea that the lease expires and the person becomes a trespasser is the wrong starting point for a post-2026 assured tenancy: the tenancy is periodic, and even a possession order does not itself end it, because the Housing Act 1988 says “the tenancy ends when the order is executed.” Nor does holding over make the tenant a residential squatter, because the squatting offence is “not committed by a person holding over after the end of a lease or licence”. The commercially useful distinction is not “tenant versus squatter” but “tenant before execution versus former tenant after a valid tenant’s notice”, because the enforcement route stays court-controlled either way. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use different renting systems, so a UK-wide answer should be checked against the relevant nation.

Your notice has expired and the tenant is still there, so what happens next?

A Section 21 notice can no longer be the next step after 31 July 2026, because every surviving notice expired three months after the 1 May 2026 commencement date if that came first. The route is now a Section 8 possession claim on a statutory ground, and the notice has its own shelf life: proceedings must begin “not later than twelve months from the date of service of the notice”, so the common six-month answer is wrong. The key notice periods are ground-specific: Grounds 1 and 1A require “four months beginning with the date of service of the notice”, while Ground 8 is in the “four weeks” group. After issue, the civil rules say “the standard period between the issue of the claim form and the hearing will be not more than 8 weeks”, but the market reality is much slower: the median time from claim to repossession was 27.1 weeks in Q2 2026. The court process is a timetable, not leverage; tenants who cannot find anywhere else often wait for the order because councils, charities and lenders treat court paperwork as the real trigger.

The tenant gave notice and then did not leave, so what can you do?

There is no possession ground or expedited assured-tenancy procedure just because the tenant gave notice and then stayed, so the landlord still needs court proceedings rather than self-help. The tenant’s own notice normally has to be at least two months, because the Renters’ Rights Act wording says “not less than two months before the date on which the notice is to take effect” unless a shorter written agreement applies. Once that notice expires, the former tenancy has ended, but the Protection from Eviction Act still says the owner cannot enforce possession “otherwise than by proceedings in the court”. The money rules are surprisingly anti-intuitive: rent paid for days after the tenancy ended must be repaid, because the tenant is “entitled to be repaid any part of that rent that relates to days falling after the end of the tenancy.” Council tax, however, remains pinned to the former assured tenant under the amended council-tax wording for “a tenancy that is or was previously an assured tenancy”. This is one of the Act’s messiest practical gaps: it ended the tenancy cleanly for rent, but did not give landlords a clean possession ground for the overstay.

The tenant has ignored the possession order, so who can actually remove them?

Only court enforcement can actually remove a tenant who ignores a possession order: normally a county court bailiff under a warrant of possession, or High Court enforcement after the county court orders transfer. A landlord still cannot force entry personally, because having an ownership interest or right to possession is not “lawful authority for the use or threat of violence” to secure entry. The bailiff or High Court officer must give notice before the eviction, since CPR 83.8A says “a notice of eviction must be delivered to the premises not less than 14 days before the writ or warrant is executed”. A county court warrant costs £152, and the current possession statistics show why landlords should plan for delay: “The median average time from claim to repossession has decreased to 27.1 weeks”. A widely repeated High Court shortcut is also stale: since CPR 83.13 was substituted on 20 September 2020, permission is no longer generally needed merely to issue a High Court writ of possession; the separate step is getting the county court to transfer the case up. No law sets a maximum time by which a warrant must be executed.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• The quoted £7,000 penalty is for Renters’ Rights Act paperwork breaches, but actually forcing a tenant out can mean a civil penalty up to £40,000, because section 16I says a paperwork penalty “must not be more than £7,000” while the Protection from Eviction Act says the illegal-eviction penalty “must not be more than £40,000”. — ““must not be more than £7,000” (s.16I(6)) versus “must not be more than £40,000” (PEA s.1A(3))” [Source](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/section/16I and https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/43/section/1A)
• A landlord who wants to get rid of tenants who will not leave must either negotiate a voluntary surrender or use possession proceedings, because it is not lawful for the owner to enforce possession “otherwise than by proceedings in the court”. — ““it shall not be lawful for the owner to enforce against the occupier, otherwise than by proceedings in the court, his right to recover possession of the premises”” Source
• Changing locks, forcing entry or using threats is not cured by ownership: the Criminal Law Act says having a right to possession does not give “lawful authority for the use or threat of violence”. — ““the fact that a person has any interest in or right to possession or occupation of any premises shall not… constitute lawful authority for the use or threat of violence”” Source
• Yes, the occupier is still a tenant, not a squatter, because fixed terms in assured tenancies are now void and the statute says fixed-term provisions are “of no effect”. — ““Terms of an assured tenancy are of no effect so far as they provide— (a) for a tenancy to be a fixed term tenancy”” Source
• The tenancy is periodic, and even a possession order does not itself end it, because the Housing Act 1988 says “the tenancy ends when the order is executed.” — ““Where an order of the court for possession of the dwelling-house is obtained, the tenancy ends when the order is executed.”” Source
• Nor does holding over make the tenant a residential squatter, because the squatting offence is “not committed by a person holding over after the end of a lease or licence”. — ““The offence is not committed by a person holding over after the end of a lease or licence (even if the person leaves and re-enters the building).”” Source
• A Section 21 notice can no longer be the next step after 31 July 2026, because every surviving notice expired three months after the 1 May 2026 commencement date if that came first. — ““the period of three months beginning with the commencement date, if this three month period ends before the six month period mentioned in paragraph (a)”” Source
• The notice has its own shelf life: proceedings must begin “not later than twelve months from the date of service of the notice”, so the common six-month answer is wrong. — ““those proceedings will not begin later than twelve months from the date of service of the notice”” Source
• The key notice periods are ground-specific: Grounds 1 and 1A require “four months beginning with the date of service of the notice”, while Ground 8 is in the “four weeks” group. — ““1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2ZA, 2ZB, 2ZC, 2ZD, 4A, 6, 6A, 6B four months beginning with the date of service of the notice”; “5E, 5F, 5G, 8, 10, 11, 18 four weeks”” Source
• After issue, the civil rules say “the standard period between the issue of the claim form and the hearing will be not more than 8 weeks”, but the market reality is much slower: the median time from claim to repossession was 27.1 weeks in Q2 2026. — ““the standard period between the issue of the claim form and the hearing will be not more than 8 weeks” versus “The median average time from claim to repossession has decreased to 27.1 weeks, down from 27.9 weeks in the same period of 2025.”” [Source](https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part55 and https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-april-to-june-2026/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-april-to-june-2026)
• The tenant’s own notice normally has to be at least two months, because the Renters’ Rights Act wording says “not less than two months before the date on which the notice is to take effect” unless a shorter written agreement applies. — ““in the absence of agreement under sub-paragraph (i), not less than two months before the date on which the notice is to take effect”” Source
• Once that notice expires, the former tenancy has ended, but the Protection from Eviction Act still says the owner cannot enforce possession “otherwise than by proceedings in the court”. — ““the tenancy (in this section referred to as the former tenancy) has come to an end, but (b) the occupier continues to reside in the premises or part of them, it shall not be lawful for the owner to enforce against the occupier, otherwise than by proceedings in the court, his right to recover possession of the premises.”” Source
• Rent paid for days after the tenancy ended must be repaid, because the tenant is “entitled to be repaid any part of that rent that relates to days falling after the end of the tenancy.” — ““A person who paid rent as a tenant under an assured tenancy is entitled to be repaid any part of that rent that relates to days falling after the end of the tenancy.”” Source
• Council tax, however, remains pinned to the former assured tenant under the amended council-tax wording for “a tenancy that is or was previously an assured tenancy”. — ““or a tenancy that is or was previously an assured tenancy within the meaning of the Housing Act 1988”” Source
• Only court enforcement can actually remove a tenant who ignores a possession order: normally a county court bailiff under a warrant of possession, or High Court enforcement after the county court orders transfer. — ““For the purpose of executing a warrant to give possession of any premises, it shall not be necessary to remove any goods from those premises.” / “Subject to any such provision, the county court may order the transfer of any proceedings before it to the High Court.”” [Source](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/28/section/111 and https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/28/section/42)
• A landlord still cannot force entry personally, because having an ownership interest or right to possession is not “lawful authority for the use or threat of violence” to secure entry. — ““the fact that a person has any interest in or right to possession or occupation of any premises shall not for the purposes of subsection (1) above constitute lawful authority for the use or threat of violence by him or anyone else for the purpose of securing his entry into those premises.”” Source
• The bailiff or High Court officer must give notice before the eviction, since CPR 83.8A says “a notice of eviction must be delivered to the premises not less than 14 days before the writ or warrant is executed”. — ““a notice of eviction must be delivered to the premises not less than 14 days before the writ or warrant is executed”” Source
• A county court warrant costs £152, and the current possession statistics show why landlords should plan for delay: “The median average time from claim to repossession has decreased to 27.1 weeks”. — ““Issue a warrant of possession (recovery of a property or land)” — £152 / “The median average time from claim to repossession has decreased to 27.1 weeks, down from 27.9 weeks in the same period of 2025.”” [Source](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fees-in-the-civil-and-family-courts-main-fees-ex50/civil-court-fees-ex50 and https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-april-to-june-2026/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-april-to-june-2026)
• A widely repeated High Court shortcut is also stale: since CPR 83.13 was substituted on 20 September 2020, permission is no longer generally needed merely to issue a High Court writ of possession; the separate step is getting the county court to transfer the case up. — ““No writ of possession against a trespasser may be issued after the expiry of 3 months from the date of the order without the permission of the court.”” Source