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Section 21 Accelerated Possession Claims

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A s.21 notice comes in a prescribed form and allows you to obtain a possession order. It will not allow you to claim for any rent arrears or other issues. A claim relying on a section 21 notice is a no-fault claim. You are merely stating to the tenants and court that you are the landlord and want possession of the property back.

The benefits of a section 21 notice are that there are only very limited circumstances when a tenant can defend s21 possession claims, such as if the notice itself is not valid (the most common form of defence). In usual circumstances, the s21 procedure will be dealt with on paper and will not involve a hearing unless either the tenant raises an issue or a judge looking at the papers spots an issue and decides to list a hearing anyway.

A Section 21 notice cannot be served in the first 4 months of a tenancy. Due to coronavirus legislation, the notice period has been extended to 6 months and cannot expire before the end of the fixed/assured term. If the tenant remains in the property beyond, then you are entitled to issue a claim.

There are other important requirements to be considered before a valid section 21 notice can be served. We detail these within our eviction guide here.

Our fixed fees are set out below. These only apply where we are instructed throughout.

Key Contacts

Alex Cook
Senior Partner
Laura Albon
Partner
No Win No Fee Eligibility Calculator
This process takes no longer than 2 minutes and is step one in assessing whether or not we would be prepared to offer you a CFA.

This is a non binding indication whether Helix Law Ltd might be able to offer you a "No Win, No Fee" agreement (also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement, or CFA). There is no cost of obligation for using this service and each case is assessed on its merits.

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Area of work

We only enter into CFA funding agreements in relation to some commercial, property and construction disputes. We therefore need to understand what type of dispute you have so that we can assess whether a CFA might be appropriate.

We only offer No win, No Fee (CFA) funding in some commercial, property and construction disputes. We do not offer CFA funding in harassment, personal injury or housing disputes. If you are seeking CFA funding in another area other than those listed please use our Contact Us form at the bottom of this page
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Is the value in dispute more than £10,000?

This is important because typically it is only possible to recover legal costs, including costs funded on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ (or ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’), where the amount in dispute is over £10,000. If you have a dispute where your losses and damages are less than £10,000 it is unlikely we can offer you a CFA.

If your dispute is worth less than £10,000, it will typically be allocated by the Court to the Small Claims Track. In small claims usually costs are not recoverable and therefore we cannot offer you a CFA in these circumstances. There is always risk you have not fully identified the amount in dispute or you may want to consider paying us a fixed fee for fixed advice on your prospects of success and/or the process moving forwards, in which case please do contact us.
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Is the value in dispute more than £10,000?

This is important because typically it is only possible to recover legal costs, including costs funded on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ (or ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’), where the amount in dispute is over £10,000. If you have a dispute where your losses and damages are less than £10,000 it is unlikely we can offer you a CFA.

If your dispute is worth less than £10,000, it will typically be allocated by the Court to the Small Claims Track. In small claims usually costs are not recoverable and therefore we cannot offer you a CFA in these circumstances. There is always risk you have not fully identified the amount in dispute or you may want to consider paying us a fixed fee for fixed advice on your prospects of success and/or the process moving forwards, in which case please do contact us.
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Is the value in dispute more than £10,000?

This is important because typically it is only possible to recover legal costs, including costs funded on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ (or ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’), where the amount in dispute is over £10,000. If you have a dispute where your losses and damages are less than £10,000 it is unlikely we can offer you a CFA.

If your dispute is worth less than £10,000, it will typically be allocated by the Court to the Small Claims Track. In small claims usually costs are not recoverable and therefore we cannot offer you a CFA in these circumstances. There is always risk you have not fully identified the amount in dispute or you may want to consider paying us a fixed fee for fixed advice on your prospects of success and/or the process moving forwards, in which case please do contact us.
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The dispute is:

Generally speaking tenants will not own assets. That means you might ‘win’ but not recover damages and costs- even if the court orders the tenant to pay. Whereas if your dispute is with a property owner we can usually recover your costs and damages from their share of the property.

A CFA is unlikely to be workable in this scenario, but we may still be able to assist you with our services; please contact us via this page.
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Is your claim about an unpaid application for payment and/​or retention greater than £20,000?

This is important as it helps us assess the likely cost; benefit for you, and our ability to offer you CFA funding.

A CFA is unlikely to be workable in this scenario, but we may still be able to assist you with our services; please contact us via this page.
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Do you have a contract in writing or registered shares in your name?

The more evidence you have in support of your allegations, the better your prospects of success. The higher your prospects of success, the more likely we can offer you a CFA funding arrangement.

Where you lack documents in writing, there can be greater complexity. We need to review your circumstances and background in more detail before being able to consider alternative funding with you. Please provide details of your circumstances here and we will contact you - anchor to commercial sherholder form.

Is the issue arising recently or within the last 6 years at most?

All disputes are subject to limitation periods- this is the period of time in which a claim must be issued. Most limitation periods in our work are 6 years. There can be exceptions and upto 12 years is possible, but this is a factor that can increase risk to you and to us and might lead to us declining to offer a CFA. With the passage of time memories can/will also fade, and evidence can be lost or destroyed. Acting promptly can therefore be important.

We need to assess your position with you before being able to confirm funding.

Does the opponent own property in England and Wales?

We want to ensure we can force your opponent to pay if they refuse to pay. If your opponent has assets, usually property, we can have greater confidence of recovering money, property, or assets (or all the above), for you. Otherwise there can be risk that you have a good claim with good prospects of success, but if your oppoennt doesn’t own anything, you might not recover damages or losses.

We need to assess your position with you before being able to confirm funding.
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Thank you for filling out the form

Based on the form, we think there is a good prospect we will be prepared to offer you a No Win No Fee agreement (CFA). Please confirm your contact details and a member of our team will contact you usually within 1 hour during usual business hours.

Contact Details

Thank you for filling out the form.

The Section 21 Eviction Service

Step 1: The Notice

Our fixed fees include drafting a section 21 notice. To go ahead, email the AST, Deposit prescribed information and terms and conditions, EPC and How to Rent Booklet to us at [email protected], and we will confirm the next steps.

Step 2: The Claim

Our fixed fee includes drafting and issuing the claim and is plus the court fee of £355. To go ahead, email the AST, Deposit prescribed information and terms and conditions, EPC, How to Rent Booklet and section 21 notice to us at [email protected], and we will confirm the next steps.

Issuing a claim based on an incorrect or invalid Section 21 notice can result in you being ordered to pay the tenant’s legal costs as well as your own. If the Section 21 notice is not valid, it is not in your interests to issue a claim relying on that notice and is better to review whether the notice is valid first. If you are unsure whether you are entitled to or have served a valid Section 21 notice, contact us. We will review your position and notice and advise you that you are able to issue proceedings based on the section 21 notice. To go ahead, email your details to [email protected], and we will contact you.

Step 3: The Hearing (If There Is One)

If there is no hearing, there is no cost, and a possession order will be received. With a section 21 notice and accelerated possession proceedings, the starting point is that there will be no hearing. The court always has discretion, and if the tenant defends the claim OR the judge looks at the paperwork and decides there is an issue they want to look at, a hearing might be ordered. If you need more information regarding the eviction process and how it works, read our eviction guide available here.

Step 4: The Bailiffs

Our fixed fee includes applying to the court for a bailiff’s appointment if needed.

Residential Possession Services

  • Our fixed fee covers all of our services for residential possession:
  • Complete review of all tenancy documents
  • Advising on any problems or issues so that a valid notice can be served
  • Resolving the problems
  • Drafting notices and serving on tenants
  • Drafting claim for possession
  • Reviewing any defences received
  • Drafting any witness evidence
  • Attending hearing or instructing advocate to attend
  • Corresponding with the tenant as necessary
  • Applying for County Court Bailiff

Fixed Fee: £2,500 plus VAT and court services

Court Fees: £355 and £130 (subject to change by the court)

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Section 21 Notice Checklist – England Only

  1. Have at least 4 months expired since the start of the tenancy?
  2. Was a deposit taken from the tenant?
  3. If so, was the deposit protected with a recognised scheme within 30 days of receipt?
  4. If a deposit was taken and protected, was the deposit prescribed information, including any applicable leaflet, provided to the tenant within 30 days?
  5. If there is any gas supply or appliances within the property was a gas certificate served on the tenant before they occupied the property?
  6. Have gas safety certificates been obtained every 12 months and served on the tenants each time?
  7. Has an Energy Performance Certificate been obtained for the property? If so, has this been provided to the tenant?
  8. Has the tenant been provided with the ‘How to Rent’ booklet?
  9. Does the property require an HMO licence or any other additional licencing put in place by the Local Authority? If so, has the licence been applied for?
  10. Have you (landlord or agent) received any notice from the local authority relating to the property – an improvement notice or an emergency remedial action notice?
  11. Has any notice been received by you (landlord or agent) from the local authority relating to the property in the last 6 months?
  12. For tenancies entered into since 1 June 2019 – have you returned any monies charged to the tenant which are considered prohibited payments by the Tenant Fees Act?

 

On 28 October 2025 the long awaited Renters Rights Act 2025 (‘the Act’) received Royal Assent meaning it is now law. This includes very significant changes for landlords and tenants including changes to tenancy agreements, tenant rights, deposits, notices and eviction processes amongst others. For the current position on this see our blog here. This legislation includes numerous changes designed to alter the relationship between landlords and tenants, aimed at giving tenants greater security of tenure and rights. For now landlords can continue to use the existing processes and should serve notices and issue claims promptly wherever possible to take advantage of the time period before the Act is fully implemented. When the Act is fully implemented it will no longer be possible to pursue possession claims via the accelerated possession route as this will no longer exist. Section 21 notices are being abolished. Existing court forms will be changing. Landlords should ensure you remain up to date on the legislation to avoid later difficulties. Contact our team if you need assistance and we will be happy to help.

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“This is a fantastic little firm who go and beyond to support you. I was successful in a previous litigation. The tenacity and effort was tremendous from everyone there. There’s an enormous amount of business acumen. On previous advice, a pragmatic approach taken, I was so grateful that it led me to apply my own commonsense in doing the right thing, even if it was to not take up further dispute. Really smart people and outstanding service!!!”
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I dealt with Fiona on a HMO issue and dispute i was having with a tenant. Many other companies had said they were too busy or couldn’t have been less interested. I then came across Fiona who was unbelievably helpful from the get go and gave such useful advice. Within an hour of my enquiry she had got in touch. She followed up immediately with an email following our call. 5* service. I will definitely be using her services again in the future.
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Excellent service in dealing with landlords section 21 order’s.. put my mind at ease very professional I would highly recommend using this Law Firm they know what they are doing and act very promptly.
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Laura at Helix Law has been so incredibly helpful with an enquiry I had. She has so much knowledge and explains things in detail, however in a way I could easily understand. I would highly recommend to anyone. Thanks Laura.
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Bianca O’Donnell and Alex Cook recently provided me with professional legal property advice. There were significant financial repercussions had it gone wrong. Their ‘Stay Calm’ approach and methodical dissection of key issues was most impressive. They dealt quickly and efficiently to the last minute, providing clear advice on a potential breach of contract. Helix Law and legal advice go hand-in-hand. Helix Law have previously provided advice in various business matters over the years. They are an invaluable resource. Thank you Bianca and Alex!
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