Section 8 court hearings

Guide for private tenants with an eviction hearing.

How long does an eviction take?

Eviction takes a few months.

Your landlord can only make you leave if they take all these steps:

If your landlord does not follow this process, it's an illegal eviction.

Sometimes you can stop an eviction and stay in your home.

Contact your council's homeless team for advice if your notice ends in the next 2 months.

It depends on why your landlord wants you to leave.

Check your notice for the possession grounds. These are legal reasons you could be evicted.

Look for help as soon as you get a notice.

Tick 'housing loss prevention advice service' on the search tool.

You could get more legal help if you get benefits or have a low income.

Your landlord could start court action when the notice period ends.

But they might not do this right away.

They have a year to apply for a court order from when they give you the notice.

After this, the section 8 notice is not valid and your landlord cannot use it.

Your landlord must apply to court by 31 July 2026.

After this, your landlord is too late to start court action.

This means the notice is not valid and your landlord cannot use it to evict you.

You get a letter from the court when your landlord starts court action.

The letter has these court forms:

Read them all carefully. They will probably be in the same envelope.

The N119 form says why your landlord wants to evict you.

Check it for mistakes or anything you do not agree with.

For example, if it says you owe rent but you disagree with how much.

This is on the N5 claim form.

Put this date on your calendar or set a reminder on your phone.

The hearing is usually 3 to 8 weeks after you get the court forms.

Last updated: 1 May 2026