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.