Which possession proceedings?

Information about penalties:

Once the Renters Rights Act has come into force (in this respect) on 1 May 2026, new penalties will also come into force.  So landlords desiring to evict their tenants need to be very careful to comply with the rules.  Otherwise, you could face Civil Penalty fines.

For example, the following will attract Civil Penalty fines:

• Landlords who unlawfully harrass and evict tenants without going through the courts – £40,000 (the government recommended starting point is £35,000)
• Landlords who attempt to end a tenancy orally (ie just tell tenants to leave without giving a notice) – £7,000 (recommended starting point is £6,000)
• Landlords who serve a ‘purported notice of possession’ ie a notice which is incorrect (save for innocent mistakes) – £7,000 (recommended starting point is £6,000)
• If a tenant vacates after having been served a notice which used a ground unreasonably – £7,000 (recommended starting point is £6,000)
• Issuing a notice where you should have given notice in your tenancy agreement but did not – £7,000 (recommended starting point is £6,000)
• Knowingly or recklessly using an incorrect ground for possession £40,000 (recommended starting point is £30,000)

More information on these can be found in Part 2 of the Dealing with Local Authority Enforcement Kit, available to Landlord Law members.

Note that after 1 May, landlords should use the new possession notice form 3A rather than the old section 8 notice form 3.

Hopefully, you would never commit any of the breaches or offences above, but if you do, it could prove quite expensive.  Particularly if you have been the subject of another Civil Penalty Notice in the past five years, which can be an offence in itself, punishable by a further fine of up to £40,000.

In view of this, we recommend that, until the new rules are better known, all landlords use solicitors for possession proceedings.  Then, if a mistake is made, you can claim off the solicitor’s insurance.

Tenancy Deposits

The rules regarding tenancy deposits have not changed much, save that the Housing Act 1988 has been amended to provide that failure to comply with the rules will prevent landlords from obtaining a possession order under any of the section 8 grounds for possession apart from grounds 7A and 14.

This is because section 21 is no longer with us.

You can read about the rules in this page in the old part of this guide save that you should read ‘section 8’ for ‘section 21′.

Click the next button to learn more about the new rules under the Renters’ Rights Act.