How to Assemble the N5 and N119 Pack After the Possession Notice Expires

The date in the possession notice has passed and the tenant is still there. This page is the county-court claim pack: Form N5 with Form N119 for a rented residential property in England, not another Form 3A. Serving the section 8 notice is the earlier file; this pack starts only after that notice period ends.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

This pack starts only after the notice expires

GOV.UK’s repossessing guidance for privately rented property in England says that if the tenant does not leave by the date in the section 8 notice, you apply to the court for a possession order. The notice itself — Form 3A or substantially to the like effect — belongs in the earlier serve file. Start here only when that notice is already served, the period has ended, and the tenant remains at one privately rented address in England.

If the home is outside England, stop here and use the forms and court route for that jurisdiction; the England N5 and N119 pair on GOV.UK is not the Wales pack. Ground 1A sale-intention evidence, an accelerated Form N5B claim, and a bailiff warrant (Form N325 / N325A) are separate stages from this filing. For rent arrears that are still a workflow before any court claim, keep the first-30-days arrears file and any repayment-plan record separate from the claim pack.

The standard possession orders guide uses the same split as the repossessing page: Possession Claim Online when the claim is only for rent, otherwise paper N5 and N119 to the local court that deals with housing possession. Choose that route before you fill any forms.

Do: use Possession Claim Online only when GOV.UK allows a claim for unpaid rent (or mortgage as the PCOL page states) and no other reason.

Don’t: treat Possession Claim Online as the default for every section 8 claim. Sale, breach, and other non-rent grounds stay on paper N5 and N119.

Build the claim pack in filing order

Download the current England versions of N5 and N119 from GOV.UK. After 1 May 2026 HMCTS refreshed those forms; older PDFs risk being returned unissued. Complete the claim form and the particulars with the tenancy, the grounds, and the relief sought. Include a copy of the notice already served and, if you record who was served, how, and when, add Form N215. Attach evidence that matches the grounds already on the notice — for example a rent history for arrears — following what the repossessing guide and the forms ask for, rather than a borrowed checklist from another claim.

The county-court possession issue fee is £415 on the Civil court fees (EX50) line for issuing a possession claim, on the repossessing guide, and on Possession Claim Online. Check EX50 on the day you file. Payment routes the repossessing page names include cheque to HM Courts and Tribunals Service, card by phone or at the counter, or a fee account if set up. Help with fees, where eligible, is a paper path — PCOL is not available if you are applying for help with fees.

After issue, the court sends the papers to the tenant and sends you a notice of issue with the claim number and a hearing date. Defence drafting and hearing preparation come later. You are done with this stage when the pack holds the completed England N5 and N119 (or the PCOL filing when that route applies), the served notice copy, service details, matching evidence, the issue-fee payment trail from GOV.UK, and the extra copies for filing — and when you have diaried the notice of issue and the claim number.

Check the Civil court fees (EX50) possession-issue line on the day you file. Leave warrant fees, Form N325, bailiffs, and High Court writ practice for later. IziRento stores the pack and does not file at court, take the fee, or appear at the hearing.