Secure Property Access After Tenant Leaves: Legal Steps

We applied to the Court for possession under the Standard Procedure (for possession and rent arrears) as the tenants failed to vacate after the expiry of the no-reason Notice.

We attended a Court hearing where we discovered we had not completed the claim from N119 correctly. Rather than starting over, the Judge verbally agreed to our request to amend the claim form at para 4(c) to add a claim for a mandatory order for possession.

We now have to serve witness statements and a request to amend the claim to the Court and the tenants (defendants).

In the meantime, our tenants have vacated the property, so my question is, can we enter the property, change the locks, and take possession, or do we legally have to wait for the Court Order to be issued?

View Related Handbook Page

Landlord Wants Tenant to Leave

A tenancy of someone's home, starting on or after 28 February 1997, will in most cases be an assured shorthold tenancy. Take advice early if there are any doubts about what type of tenancy is being terminated. The procedures for ending a tenancy are different, depending on the type of tenancy.