Accelerated Possession

Under the terms of a short hold tenancy, the landlord has an automatic or mandatory right to possession of the property at the end of the agreed term, or after 6 months if the agreed term is less than 6 months, providing the required 2 months' Section 21 notice (see Section 21 Guide)  has been served correctly and expired.

After the expiry of the Section 21 Notice Complete court form

The accelerated possession procedure means that the possession award can be decided by the court purely on the basis of written representations submitted (see evidence required to apply for this process). The following applies:

• No formal hearing is required. Where one is called there is a problem
• The procedure, however, only applies to possession, together with the costs of bringing the action.
• The Landlord cannot include a claim for arrears of rent, for example. Such a claim would need to be brought under a separate civil action.
• The Landlord could not pursue a Section 8 court proceeding once they have commenced with the accelerated possession procedure. This could expose the Landlord to a multi track court process which is complicated.