The court fees for a standard eviction in England are £567: £415 to issue the possession claim and £152 for the bailiff’s warrant, at the rates in force since 13 July 2026. If you need to evict a tenant, the £415 is the first figure you’ll find on GOV.UK. It’s the small visible tip of a much larger bill: solicitor fees, bailiff appointments, void periods, damage remediation, and above all the lost rent while the process runs.
This guide gives the line-item cost of a UK eviction in 2026, based on Ministry of Justice data, court fee schedules, current specialist solicitor rates, and typical rental voids. Use these numbers to price your risk, decide whether to buy rent guarantee insurance, and to understand why arrears intervention on day 1 matters more than any other rent-collection activity.
Not legal advice. Case-specific costs vary widely.
Court fees (the visible costs)
Possession claim issue fee: £415 (GOV.UK fee list, updated 13 July 2026). Paid to the county court when you file the N5 claim form.
Warrant of possession: £152. Paid after the possession order expires to instruct a county court bailiff.
Application to transfer to High Court (if you want a High Court Enforcement Officer instead of a county court bailiff): £321, the fee for an application on notice. Faster enforcement but adds legal cost.
Writ of possession (High Court equivalent to a warrant): £82 court fee + £300–£800 HCEO enforcement fee.
Total court fees (standard route): £567 (£415 issue + £152 warrant).
Total court fees (High Court route): £818 in court fees (£415 + £321 + £82) plus £300–£800 HCEO, so roughly £1,100–£1,600 all-in.
From £7.99 a month, LetCompliance keeps the rent ledger that shows the arrears, and on paid plans drafts the Section 8 notice on Form 3A with the grounds in full GOV.UK wording and the notice period and arrears worked out, whether or not you then instruct a solicitor for the claim. Get started
Solicitor fees (the biggest choice you make)
Three tiers of representation:
DIY: landlord self-litigates. Cost: £0 legal fees, court fees only. Realistic for uncontested Ground 8 with clear arrears evidence, and for landlords with time to read Civil Procedure Rules Part 55. Time cost: 15–25 hours across the case.
Fixed-fee possession specialist (Landlord Action, Landlord Solicitors, etc.): £1,000–£1,800 + VAT for uncontested Ground 8. Includes notice drafting, claim filing, hearing attendance, warrant application. Best value for landlords with 1–5 properties.
Full-service housing solicitor: £2,500–£6,000 + VAT for contested cases. Hourly rate £200–£400. Necessary when:
- Tenant has counterclaimed for disrepair
- Deposit was not protected (deposit penalty defence)
- Notice defects exist
- Legal aid tenant with duty solicitor
- Complex tenancy history (joint tenancies, subletting, illegal use)
Lost rent (the invisible cost)
Rent goes unpaid from month 1 of arrears through to the day the tenant leaves. Realistic durations:
- First missed payment to Section 8 notice: about 9 weeks. Ground 8 needs 3 months’ arrears, which you reach at the third missed payment, about 9 weeks after the first.
- Section 8 notice period: 4 weeks (Ground 8) to 4 months (Ground 1/1A).
- Claim to repossession: a median of 27.1 weeks for landlord claims (Ministry of Justice, April to June 2026).
- Post-possession voids (property re-let): 2–6 weeks.
Total rent-loss window: at the median, about 40 weeks from the first missed payment to getting the property back (9 weeks of arrears building, 4 weeks’ notice, 27 weeks from claim to repossession), and 42–46 weeks once you add the void before re-letting. Contested cases can run a year or more.
Lost rent on a £1,200/month property:
| Case duration | Lost rent |
|---|---|
| 30 weeks | £8,308 |
| 40 weeks | £11,077 |
| 46 weeks | £12,738 |
| 52 weeks | £14,400 |
Counted from the first missed payment to re-letting, a case that runs at the median costs 42–46 weeks of rent.
Add potential judgment loss: a money judgment for the arrears is only worth what you can enforce. Rent judgments obtained but not paid become effectively lost.
Property remediation cost
Tenants facing eviction rarely leave the property pristine. Realistic remediation for a departing arrears tenant:
- End-of-tenancy clean: £150–£350
- Damage repairs: £200–£3,000+ (varies enormously, from minor scuffs to substantial damage requiring re-decoration and replacement carpet)
- Rubbish removal: £100–£400
- Locksmith / re-key: £120–£280
- Utility final-reading disputes: no direct cost, admin time
Typical remediation budget: £800–£2,500 on top of everything else.
Some of this can be recovered from the deposit, if the deposit was properly protected and the deductions are properly evidenced. Landlords who lost track of deposit compliance during the tenancy usually lose the deduction dispute at TDS/DPS/mydeposits.
Enforcement costs (the tenant who won’t leave)
If the tenant does not leave after the possession order:
County court bailiff: £152 warrant fee (included above). Slow: 2–10 weeks to appointment depending on region.
High Court enforcement: £321 transfer + £82 writ fee + £300–£800 HCEO fee = £703–£1,203. Faster (usually 2–4 weeks), and psychologically more effective (some tenants leave when HCEOs are instructed but not when county court bailiffs are).
Costs the landlord adds to the case:
- Rent judgment enforcement (attachment of earnings, third-party debt order, charging order): £110–£200 per attempt.
- Registering a CCJ against the tenant if arrears remain unpaid: automatic once judgment is entered.
- Instructing a debt-recovery agency: on-success 15–30% commission if they recover.
Recovery rates in practice: poor for departed arrears tenants. Most landlords write off the arrears judgment as a loss and treat any subsequent recovery as a bonus.
The full worked example: Section 8 Ground 8, £1,200/month
Uncontested Ground 8 case, fixed-fee solicitor, 40-week timeline (the median case):
| Cost line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Court fees (issue + warrant) | £567 |
| Fixed-fee solicitor + VAT | £1,680 |
| Lost rent (40 weeks) | £11,077 |
| Remediation | £1,200 |
| Property re-marketing | £250 |
| Total | £14,774 |
Minus deposit deductions (say the whole 5-week deposit, which is £1,384.62 at £1,200 a month): net loss £13,389.
Contested case with disrepair counterclaim, 52-week timeline, £4,000 legal fees:
| Cost line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Court fees (issue + warrant + interim applications) | £850 |
| Full-service solicitor + VAT | £4,800 |
| Lost rent (52 weeks) | £14,400 |
| Damages counterclaim award to tenant | £2,500 |
| Remediation | £2,000 |
| Property re-marketing | £250 |
| Total loss | £24,800 |
This is why prevention is the primary cost strategy: robust referencing, first-day-of-arrears intervention, rent guarantee insurance, and a fully documented compliance stack (deposit, gas safety record, EICR, EPC, written statement of terms).
Shorten the biggest line, the lost rent. Every week between the first missed payment and the notice is a week of rent you will not see. LetCompliance collects the rent by Direct Debit or card and tracks each due date against the rent ledger, so a missed payment shows the day it is missed, not at the next statement. Switch on arrears chasing and the reminders go out and are logged against the tenancy. If it still comes to possession, the Section 8 notice builder (Form 3A, on paid plans) takes the arrears from that ledger, and the possession tracker holds the dates. Get started, from £7.99 a month →
The two cost hedges landlords buy
Rent guarantee insurance (RGI): £150–£350/year per property, covers lost rent + legal costs during possession. Only pays if you followed proper referencing and RGI-approved onboarding. See Rent Guarantee Insurance UK 2026: Worth It?.
Deposit protection with clear inventory and check-in report: max 5 weeks’ rent under Tenant Fees Act 2019. Recovers a small portion of the loss but the process (adjudication, evidence gathering) is 6–12 weeks after tenant departure.
Neither insures fully. Both together dramatically reduce the exposure.
Sources
- HMCTS: Court fees 2026
- GOV.UK: Civil court fees (EX50), from 13 July 2026
- Ministry of Justice: Mortgage and landlord possession statistics, April to June 2026 (published August 2026)
- Civil Procedure Rules Part 55: Possession claim procedure
- The Deposit Protection Service: Deposit adjudication statistics
Sources and scope
- GOV.UK: Renting out a property
- GOV.UK: Your landlord’s safety responsibilities
- HSE: Gas safety in rented properties
Every figure on this page is cited to GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk or HSE and reviewed against the live source every quarter. This is guidance, not individual legal advice.
After Section 21: Possession Routes Map
Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026 and the window to use older notices closed on 31 July 2026. This map takes the reasons landlords served Section 21 and shows the Section 8 ground that fits.
- Your reason for possession matched to a Section 8 ground
- Notice period and the evidence the court will look for
- What bars a possession order, and what no longer does
- The first-year rule and the 12-month re-letting ban for Grounds 1 and 1A
Frequently asked questions
What are the court fees for eviction in 2026?
£415 to issue the possession claim (N5) and £152 for a warrant of possession, at the rates in force since 13 July 2026. £321 for an application to transfer to the High Court, plus the £82 writ fee and a £300–£800 HCEO enforcement fee, if going the fast-enforcement route. Total court fees for a standard case: £567.
How much does a solicitor charge for eviction?
Fixed-fee possession specialist £1,000–£1,800 + VAT for uncontested Ground 8. Full-service housing solicitor £2,500–£6,000 + VAT for contested cases (hourly £200–£400). DIY is viable for uncontested Ground 8 with clear arrears evidence, and then you pay court fees only.
What is the biggest cost in an eviction?
Lost rent. At the median, about 40 weeks pass between the first missed payment and getting the property back: £11,077 on a £1,200/month property. Contested cases can run a year or more (£14,400). Add remediation £800–£2,500 and re-letting costs on top.
How much can I recover from the tenant afterwards?
Realistically, very little. A judgment is only worth what you can enforce. Treat lost rent as gone. The two main hedges are rent guarantee insurance (£150–£350/year) and a properly protected deposit with clear inventory evidence to recover the maximum permitted deduction.
