This video shows you how to fill in court form N244 to ask the court to stop the bailiffs from evicting you for rent arrears,

Get form N244 to the courts as soon as the bailiffs give you a date when they are coming.

There are a few things you need to know first.

Grounds for eviction

You can ask the court to stop the bailiffs if you are being evicted on a discretionary ground.

A ground is the reason that your landlord is evicting you.

Discretionary means that the court can decide to stop your eviction.

Look at your possession order to check if your landlord is using a discretionary ground to evict you.

There could be:

• Ground 10 if you owed some rent at your possession hearing.

• Ground 11 if you kept paying your rent late.

Your landlord might use both grounds.

But you can't ask the courts to stop the bailiffs if your possession order was made on ground 8.

Check if ground 8 is written on your possession order.

Call the bailiffs to tell them you are asking the court to stop the eviction.

This is very important if you are taking your N244 form into the court on the day the bailiffs are coming, because the bailiffs could come while you are at court.

Make a repayment plan if you can.

If you can start to pay your arrears back now, try to make a repayment plan. This means showing the court how much of your arrears you can pay back regularly.

There is a minimum amount that you have to pay back, so ask a debt adviser or the court duty adviser.

A court duty adviser is a lawyer at court who can support you at your hearing.

Show your repayment plan to them on the day.

If you can't make a repayment plan yet, let the court know how much rent you can pay in the meantime.

Now you're ready to fill in form N244.

Have your N54 notice of eviction ready.

You need some of the details on your notice of eviction form.

Start at the top right hand corner of the N244 form.

Fill in the boxes which say ‘Name of court’.

Write the name of the court your hearing is at.

‘Claim no.’ - this is your claim number. It is on your possession order.

Leave the ‘Fee account no.’ field blank.

You can pay the court fee on the day or online.

If your income is low, you can apply for help using form EX160.

You can do this before or after your hearing.

This link shows you what to do.

‘Warrant no.’ - this is also on your notice of eviction.

‘Claimant's name’.

The claimant is usually your landlord.

‘Defendant’s name’ - write your name here.

Make sure that you write it the same as it is on your bailiff's notice.

‘Date’ - write today's date but next to the date box, write ‘warrant due to be executed on’ - and put the date the bailiffs are coming.

Now you can go on to the main questions.

Question 1.

‘What is your name?’

Write your name in this field. Make sure it matches the name on your possession order.

Question 2 - ‘Are you a...?’. Tick the box which says ‘Defendant’.

You can ignore this box which says ‘if you are a legal representative, whom do you represent?’

Question 3 - ‘What order are you asking the court to make and why?’

This is the box you use to tell the court that you want them to stop the bailiffs.

Write this text in the Question 3 box:

I ask the court to suspend the warrant due to be executed on: write the date that the bailiffs will come.

I can: choose the one which applies to you:

- sort out my money problems soon because - write the reason you can sort out your money problems. For example, you are getting more hours at work.

- meet my contractual rent payment and offer: say how much you can pay each month for your arrears if you are ready to do that.

Question 4 - ‘Have you attached a draft of the order you are applying for?’

Tick ‘No’ for this box.

Question 5 - ‘How do you want to have this application dealt with?’

Tick the ‘at a hearing’ box.

You can tick the ‘at a remote hearing’ box if you would rather have an online hearing.

For example if you are disabled and would find an online hearing easier.

But it is a good idea to go to the hearing if you can.

It's difficult to get legal help on the day if you have a remote hearing and there might be technical problems with online hearings.

Question 6 - ‘How long do you think this hearing will last?’

Just write ‘15 minutes’ here. The length of your hearing might change on the day.

‘Is this time estimate agreed by all parties?’

Leave this box blank.

Question 7 - ‘Give any details of any fixed trial date or period.’ Leave this box blank.

Question 8 - ‘What level of judge does your hearing need?’ Write ‘District judge’ in this box.

Question 9 - ‘Who should be served with this application?’ Write ‘Claimant’ in this box. The claimant is usually your landlord.

Question 9A - ‘Please give the service address (other than details of the claimant or defendant) of any party named in question 9’.

Write your landlord's name and address in this box. You should be able to find their details on the claim form or your possession order.

If you can't find your landlord's address, just write 'as on claim form.'

Question 10 - ‘What information will you be relying on, in support of your application?’

Tick the box which says ‘the evidence set out in the box below’.

This big box is where you tell the judge why you should not be evicted. Write down your reasons for wanting the eviction stopped.

This is where you tell the court if something has happened that has made it hard for you to pay your rent - or if you could start paying your arrears back if the court gives you time to sort things out.

For example:

• you lost work hours, but you're being interviewed for another job with more hours

• you've had a job offer and will start soon

• you had to take time off work because you were sick or in hospital, but will return to work

• you've applied for benefits to help pay your rent

• your benefit payments were delayed but you are sorting it out

If you have a good reason for your arrears, the court might stop the eviction for now, to give you time to get things in order. This is called an adjournment.

If you do have a repayment plan, tell the court if you can make a repayment offer.

This means showing the court how much of your arrears you can pay back regularly.

Write down how much money you have coming in each month and how much you spend.

You need to show the court that you can pay some of your arrears off, as well as paying your usual rent.

Question 11 - ‘Do you believe you or a witness who will give evidence on your behalf, are vulnerable in any way which the court needs to consider?’

Use this page to tell the court if you have extra needs, or if anyone who is coming to support you has extra needs.

Tick the ‘Yes’ box if this is the case for you.

Explain the extra needs in the box on the form.

For example, if you or the person who is coming with you is disabled and you want to make sure there is a ramp to get in, and disabled toilets.

Another example could be that you have mental health issues that you want the court to know about.

Statement of truth.

Sign this page to let the court know that everything you put on the form is true.

Tick the first box.

This one which says ‘I believe the facts stated in section 10 (and any continuation sheets) are true’.

You don't need to tick the second box.

When you've done that, sign the form where it says ‘Signature’.

Check the ‘Applicant’ box.

Write today's date in the ‘Date’ fields.

Write your name in the box which says ‘Full name’.

Make sure it matches the name on your possession order.

You can ignore the last two boxes on this page.

Fill in your address, postcode and phone number in the boxes.

Ignore the fields which say ‘Fax number’ and ‘DX number’.

Ignore the ‘Your Ref.’ field.

You can put your email address in the email box if you want to.

Now you have completed your N244 form, ready to submit to the court.