Section 21 notice

Kuni

Hi

I have only one rental property that I bought a few years ago, keeping in mind that I would sell it at the time of my retirement.
I am in my late 60s and will be retiring soon. I want to sell the property now.

I served a Section 21 notice to the tenants in September 2025, and they are supposed to vacate by next week. However, I have been informed that they have no intention of leaving the property.

I have served a section 21 notice through an expensive eviction company, who I believe have provided all the necessary paperwork to the tenants along with the notice.

Can someone please let me know if there is any argument/reason that tenants can come up with in court in order to stay and not leave?

Many Thanks

Brie

As I understand it there is no reason they will be able to give as long as you (or your agency on your behalf) has done everything according to legislation.  So you've used a deposit scheme, done all the gas certifications etc etc etc.  If anything is missing then the tenants can wait until the last day and then let you know they aren't going because X is missing. So if it is the gas cert you have to get that sorted and then serve another S21.  And on the last day they can say no because Y is missing and so on.  

They should be continuing to pay rent and you might offer an incentive to get them to move.  But likely they've been advised to stay put as otherwise they are making themselves homeless on purpose and thus can't rely on the council for help with rehoming.  But it's a long process so if they are waiting for you to send in the bailiffs you may have another 6 months wait on your hands.  I hope it all goes relatively smoothly.

anselld

Not if all your paperwork is in order and there is not any outstanding disrepair.  However it is not just the eviction paperwork it is everything throughout the tenancy.
Even so, they can drag things on even further by waiting for bailiffs etc.

_Penny_Dreadful

Kuni said:

Hi

I have only one rental property that I bought a few years ago, keeping in mind that I would sell it at the time of my retirement.
I am in my late 60s and will be retiring soon. I want to sell the property now.

I served a Section 21 notice to the tenants in September 2025, and they are supposed to vacate by next week. However, I have been informed that they have no intention of leaving the property.

I have served a section 21 notice through an expensive eviction company, who I believe have provided all the necessary paperwork to the tenants along with the notice.

Can someone please let me know if there is any argument/reason that tenants can come up with in court in order to stay and not leave?

Many Thanks

It’s not just this eviction company you’ve used that needs to get the paperwork right. You, as the landlord, need to ensure you got all the prescribed information correct at the start of the tenancy and throughout. 

buildersjoy

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Kuni said:

Hi

I have only one rental property that I bought a few years ago, keeping in mind that I would sell it at the time of my retirement.
I am in my late 60s and will be retiring soon. I want to sell the property now.

I served a Section 21 notice to the tenants in September 2025, and they are supposed to vacate by next week. However, I have been informed that they have no intention of leaving the property.

I have served a section 21 notice through an expensive eviction company, who I believe have provided all the necessary paperwork to the tenants along with the notice.

Can someone please let me know if there is any argument/reason that tenants can come up with in court in order to stay and not leave?

Many Thanks

It’s not just this eviction company you’ve used that needs to get the paperwork right. You, as the landlord, need to ensure you got all the prescribed information correct at the start of the tenancy and throughout. 

Agreed PD
I've only ever done 2 S21's in 10 years, both recently so I could sell to purchase another 3 houses. What I would say is make sure you've got everything in order as well as the Company you are using. 
* Make sure the S21 notice has more than 2 months notice, 
* You gave evidence of the Deposit being protected,
* Gas & Electric Certs handed over. 
But the fact that they've said they are not leaving is I would be advising you to get ready for the eviction process to go through the court. I know some people would suggest incentives but what I'd say (my lawyer told me) be very careful what you say / put in writing as they could use it against you in court.
I had 1 leave on the day and 1 I had to go through the courts and get bailiffs/HCEO involved (I paid the extra and went High Court Enforcement once I'd got the Warrant of Possession and then transferred it to the high court once they date passed) - Always get Legal Advice (yes its expensive but less so than no rent for a sustained period of time or the stress)

freesha

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Kuni said:

Hi

I have only one rental property that I bought a few years ago, keeping in mind that I would sell it at the time of my retirement.
I am in my late 60s and will be retiring soon. I want to sell the property now.

I served a Section 21 notice to the tenants in September 2025, and they are supposed to vacate by next week. However, I have been informed that they have no intention of leaving the property.

I have served a section 21 notice through an expensive eviction company, who I believe have provided all the necessary paperwork to the tenants along with the notice.

Can someone please let me know if there is any argument/reason that tenants can come up with in court in order to stay and not leave?

Many Thanks

It’s not just this eviction company you’ve used that needs to get the paperwork right. You, as the landlord, need to ensure you got all the prescribed information correct at the start of the tenancy and throughout. 

Agreed - sounds like other stuff might not be in order, if you are this ignorant about basic stuff such as rights in a s21?

theartfullodger

They are not supposed to vacate September 2025 - that's just when YOU as landlord can START court processes to evict.  Probably 9 to 12 months if your paperwork is perfect.  No offence, I'm a landlord, but with over 100 Acts and regulations to comply with I suspect most English(?) landlords would have got something wrong.

In your position (been there 3 times so far) I explain, if possible somewhere neutral what I would like to do and when. But explain I'll give excellent references and be flexible on timescales (could be very fast or quite slow). Ir be calm, polite and friendly.  (How would you react if bring told to get out of your home?)

What education or training have you done in being a landlord?  (Ignorance I can say from experience can be painful, expensive, complicated and long-drawn-out.

Good luck