Form N5B: Accelerated Possession Claim (2026 Guide)

Form N5B: Accelerated Possession Claim (2026 Guide)

Form N5B — officially “Make an accelerated claim for possession of a property located wholly in England” — is the County Court claim form for the accelerated possession procedure: the streamlined, paper-only route that follows a valid section 21 notice for a property let on an assured shorthold tenancy. If the paperwork is complete, a judge can make a possession order without any hearing at all. Two corrections matter up front. First, this page previously described N5B as the mortgage lender’s possession claim — that was wrong: a lender’s claim uses Form N5 with the N120 particulars of claim. Second, and more urgently, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolished section 21 for the private rented sector in England on 1 May 2026, which gave the private-landlord use of this form a fixed long-stop of 31 July 2026: only notices served before 1 May 2026 qualify, and the claim had to be issued by the earlier of the notice’s expiry or 31 July 2026. This guide covers who can still use N5B, how to complete it properly at speed, and what tenants served with an accelerated claim can do.

What Is Form N5B?

Form N5B is the claim form for the accelerated possession procedure in Section II of Part 55 of the Civil Procedure Rules (rules 55.11–55.19). The procedure applies where the claim is brought under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to recover possession of residential property let under an assured shorthold tenancy. Its defining features:

• It is a paper procedure. There is usually no hearing: the judge reads the claim, the attached documents and any defence, and either makes the possession order or lists a hearing if something needs testing.
• It is a long, evidence-led form. The current England version runs to 20 pages of statements and questions — the tenancy, the notice, the deposit, the prescribed documents — and the tenancy agreement, the section 21 notice and proof of the validity conditions are attached to it.
• It claims possession and costs only. The accelerated route cannot include a rent-arrears money claim. If you need to claim arrears too, that is the standard possession procedure (Form N5 + N119) or a separate money claim.

Who Can Still Use Form N5B in 2026?

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changed this form’s audience fundamentally on 1 May 2026. As at July 2026:

• Private landlords in England — transitional only. GOV.UK’s guidance is explicit: you can only make an accelerated claim if you served a valid section 21 notice on your tenant before 1 May 2026, and you had to ask the court to issue the claim by whichever of these came first — the section 21 notice’s expiry date, or 31 July 2026. The court process cannot be started after 31 July 2026 even if the notice would otherwise still be valid; the one exception is where the deadline was extended because the tenant was in a debt-respite “breathing space”.
• Private registered providers of social housing — still available. A private registered landlord claiming possession of a social-housing assured shorthold tenancy in England continues to use N5B under the same rules as before 1 May 2026 (the Renters’ Rights Act changes reach social-housing tenancies from 2027 at the earliest).
• Wales — different form. A landlord of a property in Wales uses the separate Form N5B Wales (for notices served on or after 1 December 2022, under Wales’s own renting regime).

If you miss the transitional window, the tenancy continues as an assured periodic tenancy and possession runs through the section 8 grounds on Form 3A, with the standard procedure (Form N5 + N119). Our Renters’ Rights Act guide covers the new landscape in full.

Step-by-Step Guide to the N5B Process

Step 1 — Confirm Eligibility, Then Diarise the Deadline

Before anything else, confirm all of the following:

• The tenancy is (or was) an assured shorthold tenancy with a written agreement, and the property is wholly in England.
• You served a valid section 21 notice (Form 6A) before 1 May 2026, giving at least two months.
• The notice has expired — or will expire in time — and today is on or before the earlier of the notice’s expiry date and 31 July 2026.

If any of those fail, stop: the accelerated route is not available, and issuing anyway wastes the fee and several weeks.

Step 2 — Assemble the Validity Documents

A section 21 notice is only as strong as its pre-conditions, and the N5B requires you to evidence them. Assemble:

• Deposit protection — the certificate from the authorised scheme and proof the prescribed information was given to the tenant in time.
• Energy Performance Certificate — provided to the tenant.
• Gas safety certificates — where there is a gas installation, provided before occupation and annually.
• The “How to Rent” guide — the current version at the time it was given.
• The tenancy agreement and the section 21 notice — with proof of how and when the notice was served.
• Confirmation no improvement notice or emergency remedial action notice was in play in the relevant period.

Step 3 — Complete Form N5B

Download the current form from GOV.UK (link at the top of this guide) and work through it methodically. The form’s questions track the validity conditions above — dates of the tenancy, the notice and its service, the deposit and prescribed information, the documents given to the tenant. Answer every question, attach every document the form calls for, and sign the statement of truth yourself. On a paper-only procedure the judge sees exactly what you file and nothing else: a gap that a hearing might have let you explain simply becomes a listed hearing, or a dismissed claim.

Step 4 — File at Court

File the completed N5B at the County Court hearing centre for the area where the property is situated, with the court fee. GOV.UK lists the possession claim fee at £415 in the EX50 civil court fees guide updated 13 July 2026 (fee 1.4) — always confirm the figure in EX50 before filing, as fees are reviewed periodically, and use Form EX160 if applying for Help with Fees. Remember: for transitional private-landlord claims it is the issue of the claim that must happen by the deadline — file in good time, not on the last afternoon.

Step 5 — The Tenant’s Response

The court serves the claim on the tenant, who has 14 days to file a defence on the reply form. The tenant may dispute the notice’s validity, the paperwork, or ask for time on hardship grounds.

Step 6 — The Decision on the Papers

After the response period, the file goes to a judge, who will either:

• Make a possession order — normally requiring possession in 14 days, extendable to up to 42 days where the tenant shows exceptional hardship;
• List a hearing — where the papers raise a point that needs testing (a disputed notice, a defence with substance, a gap in the claim); or
• Dismiss or strike out — where the claim is defective on its face.

If the tenant does not leave by the date ordered, you apply for a warrant of possession (Form N325) and the County Court bailiff enforces the order.

Served With an N5B Claim? The Tenant’s Position

If you have received an accelerated possession claim as a tenant, you have real options and a short clock:

• Respond within 14 days on the defence form that came with the claim. Silence lets the judge decide on the landlord’s papers alone.
• Check the notice’s validity. Was the section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026? Was the claim issued by the earlier of the notice’s expiry and 31 July 2026? Was your deposit protected and the prescribed information given? Did you get the EPC, gas safety certificates and the How to Rent guide? Any one failure can defeat the claim.
• Raise exceptional hardship if you need longer than 14 days to leave — the court can allow up to 42 days.
• Get the claim checked. Chris reads the claim and your documents together and shows you exactly which conditions are met and which are arguable — see the pillars at the top of this page.

Key Deadlines

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Missing the transitional deadline. The claim had to be issued by the earlier of notice expiry and 31 July 2026. A claim posted on the deadline but issued after it is out of time.
2. Using N5B for a mortgage possession. N5B is the section 21 accelerated procedure. A lender’s claim against a defaulting borrower is Form N5 with the N120 particulars — a different claim with its own pre-action protocol.
3. An invalid section 21 notice. Deposit not protected, prescribed information not given, no EPC or gas safety certificate, wrong form or short notice — any of these invalidates the notice, and with it the claim.
4. Claiming rent arrears in the accelerated claim. The accelerated route is possession and costs only. Arrears need the standard procedure or a separate money claim.
5. Using the England form for a property in Wales. Wales has its own Form N5B Wales under its own renting law.
6. Leaving questions blank. On a paper procedure, an incomplete form does not get the benefit of the doubt — it gets a hearing date or a dismissal.

Related Court Forms & Guides

• Form N5: Claim for Possession of Property — the standard possession claim (with N119 for rented homes, N120 for mortgaged homes).
• Section 8 Notice (Form 3A) — the possession route that replaced section 21.
• Form 6A: Section 21 Notice — the notice behind every N5B claim, and its abolition.
• Form N260: Statement of Costs — the costs schedule for a hearing.
• Civil Court Forms Index — every civil court form guide in one place.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Form N5B used for?

Form N5B is the accelerated possession claim under Section II of CPR Part 55 — a paper-only procedure for recovering possession of a property in England let on an assured shorthold tenancy after a valid section 21 notice, usually decided by a judge without a hearing. It claims possession and costs only, not rent arrears.

Can private landlords still use Form N5B in 2026?

Only transitionally. Section 21 was abolished for the private rented sector in England on 1 May 2026. An N5B claim is now only possible where a valid section 21 notice was served before that date, and the court had to be asked to issue the claim by the earlier of the notice’s expiry date and 31 July 2026 (unless a tenant’s breathing space extended the deadline).

Is Form N5B the mortgage possession form?

No. A mortgage lender’s possession claim against a defaulting borrower uses Form N5 with the N120 particulars of claim (mortgaged residential premises), under the standard possession procedure and the mortgage arrears pre-action protocol. N5B is exclusively the section 21 accelerated route.

Who can still use the accelerated procedure after 31 July 2026?

Private registered providers of social housing claiming possession of social-housing assured shorthold tenancies in England — the Renters’ Rights Act changes reach those tenancies from 2027 at the earliest — and landlords in Wales, who use the separate Form N5B Wales under Wales’s own renting law.

I am a tenant and have been served with an N5B claim — what should I do?

Respond on the defence form within 14 days. Check whether the notice was served before 1 May 2026 and the claim issued in time, whether your deposit was protected with the prescribed information given, and whether you received the EPC, gas safety certificates and How to Rent guide — any failure can defeat the claim. If you need more time to move, you can ask the court to allow up to 42 days on grounds of exceptional hardship.

What happens after the judge looks at the papers?

The judge either makes a possession order (usually 14 days, up to 42 on exceptional hardship), lists a hearing if something needs testing, or dismisses a defective claim. If the tenant does not leave by the ordered date, the landlord applies for a warrant of possession on Form N325 and the County Court bailiff enforces it.

Related guides: Form N5: Claim for Possession · Form N5A: Relief Against Forfeiture · Form N260: Statement of Costs · All civil court forms