A possession order is a type of court order.

Your landlord has to ask the court for a possession order if you do not leave after a section 8 notice.

There are 2 types of possession order:

• a suspended order

• an outright order

The type of order a judge can make depends on the grounds your landlord uses.

Grounds are the legal reasons you can be evicted.

Suspended possession orders

A suspended order means you can stay in your home.

But you have to keep to the conditions in the order.

For example, it might say you have to pay both:

• your monthly rent

• £40 each month until your arrears are paid off

You will not be evicted if you keep to these conditions.

But if you miss a payment or pay late, your landlord could apply for bailiffs to evict you.

The judge can only make a suspended order on grounds 9 to 18.

Outright possession orders

An outright order means you can be evicted.

The judge has to make an outright order if your landlord can prove any of the grounds 1 to 8.

The order has a possession date. This date will be 2 to 6 weeks after the court hearing.

It is not the same as an eviction date.

But your landlord can apply for bailiffs to evict you if you do not leave by the possession date.

Who pays the costs of eviction?

If the court makes any type of order, you usually have to pay:

• your landlord's court fees

• some or all of their legal costs

You might have to pay at least £666 if you are evicted by bailiffs.

But you can pay your landlord back over time.

If you could be homeless after eviction

You can ask your council for help as soon as you get a section 8 notice.

You do not need to wait for things to go to court.

Let the council know if the court makes an outright order at the hearing.

The council should not just tell you to wait for the bailiffs but they often do.

This is because you have a right to stay until the bailiffs come.