Form N5A: Claim for Relief Against Forfeiture Explained

At a glance

• What Form N5A is: the county court claim form for relief against forfeiture, published by HM Courts & Tribunals Service, used by a tenant, subtenant or mortgage lender to start their own claim to reinstate a forfeited lease.
• Two different legal routes: non-payment of rent is governed by section 138 of the County Courts Act 1984; any other breach of covenant (disrepair, unauthorised subletting, insolvency and so on) is governed by section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925.
• Rent-arrears time limit: if the landlord has already recovered possession, an application for relief under section 138(9A) must be made within 6 months of that date.
• Other-breach time limit: section 146 sets no fixed deadline, but courts weigh delay heavily against the tenant — act as soon as possible.
• Who can apply: the tenant, and under section 146(4) LPA 1925 and section 138(9C) CCA 1984, a subtenant or mortgage lender with an interest in the lease.
• Procedure: possession and relief claims are brought under CPR Part 55, normally in the County Court for the district where the property is situated. The court fixes a hearing within a standard period of 8 weeks of issue, and the claim must be served at least 21 days before the hearing.
• High Court alternative: section 38 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 gives the High Court an equivalent summary power to grant relief for rent arrears, but this is relevant only where the landlord's own claim was brought there — almost all N5A claims are filed in the County Court.
• Where an N5A claim isn't needed: if the landlord has already issued a possession claim, relief for rent arrears can often be resolved within that claim (by paying the arrears and costs into court) rather than by a fresh N5A application.

This guide covers forfeiture of leases and relief against forfeiture in England and Wales. Scotland has its own separate framework for terminating leases (irritancy), and Northern Ireland has its own statutory scheme — neither is covered here.

What forfeiture and relief against forfeiture mean

Forfeiture is the landlord's right to bring a lease to an early end because the tenant has broken one of its terms. It can happen in two ways: by the landlord peaceably re-entering the property (for example, changing the locks when nobody is there), or by the landlord obtaining a court order for possession. Once forfeiture has taken effect, the tenant no longer has a legal right to be at the property.

Relief against forfeiture is the court's power to undo that outcome where it is fair to do so. If relief is granted, the lease is treated as if the forfeiture had never happened. The tenant keeps their lease, usually on terms that they put right whatever caused the forfeiture in the first place.

Form N5A is the claim form a tenant, subtenant or mortgage lender uses to ask the County Court for that relief. The form itself records that the claimant is interested in the lease, that the defendant (the landlord, as the person entitled to the reversion) forfeited or served notice of intention to forfeit the lease, and that the claimant is seeking relief so the lease can continue. Full particulars of the claim must be set out either overleaf on the form or in an attached document, and the claim form must be verified by a statement of truth, as confirmed by the form published on GOV.UK.

Two different legal routes: rent arrears and other breaches

Which law applies, and therefore how strict the time limit is, depends entirely on why the lease was forfeited.

| | Non-payment of rent | Any other breach of covenant | |---|---|---| | Governing law (County Court) | Section 138, County Courts Act 1984 | Section 146, Law of Property Act 1925 | | Governing law (High Court) | Section 38, Senior Courts Act 1981 (parallel summary power) | Section 146, Law of Property Act 1925 (same statute, both courts) | | Landlord's notice required first? | No equivalent notice requirement | Yes — a section 146 notice specifying the breach, requiring it to be remedied if capable of remedy, and requiring compensation | | Automatic relief available? | Yes — paying arrears and costs into court at least 5 clear days before the hearing stops the action automatically | No — the court decides relief on the facts | | Statutory time limit if possession already recovered | 6 months from the date the landlord recovers possession (section 138(9A)) | No fixed statutory deadline, but the court treats delay as a serious factor | | Who besides the tenant can apply | A subtenant or lender with a derivative interest, under section 138(9C) | An under-lessee (including a subtenant) with an estate or interest, under section 146(4) |

Rent arrears in the county court: section 138 of the County Courts Act 1984

Where a landlord is suing in the county court to forfeit a lease for non-payment of rent, section 138 of the County Courts Act 1984 governs what happens. If the tenant pays all the rent in arrears and the costs of the action into court, or to the landlord, at least 5 clear days before the return day, the action automatically stops and the tenant keeps the lease without any new lease being granted.

If the case proceeds to a hearing and the court is satisfied the landlord is entitled to forfeit, the court must still order that possession only takes effect after a period of at least 4 weeks from the date of the order, during which the tenant can avoid possession entirely by paying all the arrears and costs. If the tenant misses that window and the landlord goes on to recover possession, either by enforcing the order or otherwise, the tenant (or a subtenant or lender with a derivative interest, under section 138(9C)) can still apply to the court for relief — but only within 6 months of the date the landlord recovered possession. After that, the right is lost.

The High Court alternative for rent-arrears relief

The county court route under section 138 is not the only one. Section 38 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 gives the High Court a parallel power: in any High Court action for forfeiture of a lease for non-payment of rent, the court can grant relief in a summary manner, on the same kind of terms as to payment of rent and costs that it could have imposed before the Act, and the tenant then holds the lease on its original terms without a new lease being needed. In practice this route matters only where the landlord's own claim was already in the High Court — most possession and forfeiture claims, including almost all N5A claims, are started in the County Court, as explained under CPR Part 55 below.

Other breaches of covenant: section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925

For any breach other than non-payment of rent, such as unauthorised alterations, subletting without consent, breach of a repairing covenant, or a condition triggered by the tenant's insolvency, section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925 applies instead. Before the landlord can enforce forfeiture for most such breaches, section 146(1) requires the landlord to serve a notice on the tenant specifying the breach, requiring it to be remedied if it is capable of remedy, and requiring compensation in money, and the tenant must then fail to put it right within a reasonable time.

Where the landlord is proceeding, by action or otherwise, to enforce the forfeiture, the tenant may apply to the court for relief either within the landlord's own claim or by bringing their own claim, under section 146(2). The court decides relief having regard to the conduct of both parties and all the circumstances, and can attach conditions such as costs, damages, or an injunction against future breaches. Section 146(13), added by the County Courts Act 1984, gives the County Court jurisdiction to deal with these applications alongside the High Court. There is no fixed statutory deadline for applying, unlike the 6-month rent-arrears limit, but the court still expects the tenant to act with reasonable speed, and delay — particularly where the landlord has since re-let the property — counts heavily against the tenant.

Certain forfeiture conditions triggered by a tenant's bankruptcy are excluded from section 146 altogether for specific categories of property, such as agricultural land or a tenancy where the tenant's personal qualifications matter to the landlord; this is a narrow exception and worth flagging to an adviser if insolvency is part of the picture.

Waiver: how a landlord can lose the right to forfeit

Separately from relief, a tenant facing forfeiture should also consider whether the landlord has waived the right to forfeit in the first place. Waiver happens where the landlord, with knowledge of the breach, does something that unequivocally treats the lease as still continuing — most commonly, demanding or accepting rent that fell due after the breach became known. The test is judged objectively, by what the landlord's words or conduct show, not by what either side privately intended.

Where the breach is a one-off event (such as an unauthorised assignment), waiver can extinguish the right to forfeit for that breach entirely. Where the breach is continuing (such as an ongoing failure to repair), waiver only affects the period before the waiver — a fresh right to forfeit accrues each day the breach continues. Waiver is a defence to the forfeiture itself, and is usually argued alongside, or instead of, an application for relief.

When Form N5A is used — and when it isn't

Form N5A is generally used where the tenant needs to bring their own claim for relief, most commonly because the landlord has already re-entered the property (peaceably or under a warrant) and there is no live possession claim for the tenant to apply within. It is also the route for a subtenant or mortgage lender applying in their own right once the original lease has been forfeited.

Where the landlord has issued their own possession claim that is still on foot, relief can often be dealt with inside that claim instead — for a rent-arrears case, simply by paying the arrears and costs into court under section 138; for other breaches, by applying for relief within the landlord's action under section 146(2), sometimes by way of a counterclaim, rather than by starting a fresh N5A claim. Which route is available depends on the stage the landlord's proceedings have reached, so this is worth checking carefully before filing.

Completing and filing Form N5A

Form N5A asks for the details of the lease and the property, the date on which the defendant forfeited or served notice of intention to forfeit, and a statement that the claimant seeks relief so the lease can continue. Full particulars of claim, setting out the facts relied on, must be attached or completed overleaf, and the form must carry a statement of truth confirming the facts in the claim form are believed to be true, as required by the version of the form published on GOV.UK.

In practice, that means gathering: a copy of the lease, any section 146 notice served by the landlord (for a non-rent breach), evidence of the breach and anything done to remedy it, and — for a rent-arrears case — a full account of what is owed. The claim is normally started in the County Court for the district where the property is situated, in line with the general rule for possession-related claims under CPR Part 55. A court fee is payable when the claim is issued; check GOV.UK's court and tribunal fees guidance for the current amount, as fees change from time to time. The sealed claim must then be served on the landlord and on anyone else with an interest who is entitled to be heard, such as a subtenant.

The county court procedure under CPR Part 55

Claims by a tenant seeking relief from forfeiture are one of the categories of claim that must follow the possession-claim procedure in CPR Part 55, alongside possession claims brought by landlords, mortgagees and licensors. In practice this means:

• Venue. The claim is normally started in the County Court for the district where the land is situated. The High Court is only appropriate in limited circumstances, such as complicated disputes of fact or points of law of general importance, and the claimant must file a certificate with the claim form explaining why the High Court is being used.
• Particulars of claim. Particulars of claim must be filed with the claim form, setting out the facts the claimant relies on.
• Hearing date. The court fixes a hearing date when the claim is issued. The standard period between issue and the hearing is not more than 8 weeks, and the claim form and particulars must be served on the defendant at least 21 days before that hearing date.
• No default judgment. Because possession-related claims under Part 55 are decided at a hearing rather than on paper, the usual rules allowing a default judgment for a party who fails to respond do not apply in the same way — the court still expects to hear from both sides at the listed hearing.

If the landlord's own particulars of claim identify anyone else — including a mortgagee — who is entitled to claim relief as an under-lessee under section 146(4) of the Law of Property Act 1925, section 38 of the Senior Courts Act 1981, or section 138(9C) of the County Courts Act 1984, Practice Direction 55A requires the landlord to name that person in the particulars and serve them with a copy, so they have the opportunity to apply for relief in their own right.

Worked example: a fictional case

Priya, a fictional tenant, runs a small shop under a 10-year commercial lease. She falls three months behind on rent during a slow trading period. Her landlord issues a possession claim in the County Court relying on section 138 of the County Courts Act 1984. Priya does not pay within 5 clear days of the return day, so the automatic-stay provision in section 138(2) does not help her. At the hearing, the court is satisfied the landlord is entitled to forfeit and orders possession to take effect in 4 weeks, giving Priya one last chance to pay the arrears and costs in full during that window under section 138(3).

Priya still cannot raise the money in time, and the landlord recovers possession. Six weeks later, having sold some stock and arranged short-term finance, she is now able to clear the arrears. Because the landlord has already recovered possession, Priya's only remaining option is an application under section 138(9A) — and because she is still within 6 months of the date possession was recovered, she remains eligible to apply. Had she waited eight months, the statutory right to apply would already have been lost, regardless of her ability to pay.

Contrast this with a second, separate fictional scenario: Priya's landlord instead forfeits the lease because Priya sublet part of the shop without consent, in breach of a covenant in the lease. Here, section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925 applies instead of section 138, and there is no 6-month cut-off — but the same practical lesson holds. The longer Priya waits to apply for relief, the more the delay counts against her, especially if the landlord has since re-let the unit to someone else.

What relief against forfeiture actually does

Relief is not a formality once granted — it usually comes with conditions. For rent arrears, the tenant will normally need to pay the arrears in full, together with the landlord's costs, before relief takes effect; sections 138(2), (3) and (5) all tie relief directly to payment. For other breaches under section 146, the court can grant relief on whatever terms it thinks fit, including requiring the breach to be remedied, payment of the landlord's reasonable costs and expenses, compensation, or an injunction against future similar breaches, under section 146(2) and (3).

Once relief is granted, the lease continues as if the forfeiture had never happened — there is no new lease, and the tenant's original term, rent and obligations carry on unchanged, subject to any conditions the court has imposed.

What to do if your lease has been forfeited

1. Work out which route applies. Check the notice or possession claim you have received: is this about rent arrears, or about a different breach of covenant? The answer determines which statute, deadline and procedure apply.
2. Note the deadline immediately. If the landlord has already recovered possession for rent arrears, count from that date — you have 6 months under section 138(9A). For other breaches, there is no fixed deadline, but treat every week of delay as working against you.
3. Gather your evidence. Collect the lease, any section 146 notice, evidence of the breach and what you have done to address it, and — for arrears — a clear account of exactly what is owed.
4. Check whether existing proceedings already cover you. If the landlord has an active possession claim, find out whether relief can be dealt with inside that claim before starting a fresh Form N5A claim.
5. File Form N5A if you need your own claim. Complete the form and particulars of claim, pay the court fee (check GOV.UK for the current amount), and file at the County Court for the district where the property is situated — find the right court using GOV.UK's court and tribunal finder.
6. Serve the claim properly. Serve the sealed claim on the landlord and on anyone else with an interest in the lease, such as a subtenant or lender, within the CPR Part 55 timescales — as soon as possible after issue and at least 21 days before the hearing.
7. Take advice early if the stakes are high. Relief against forfeiture cases turn on statutory time limits and fine factual detail. If your home, business premises, or a significant sum of money is at risk, speak to a legal adviser before the clock runs out rather than after.

This guide provides general information about relief against forfeiture and Form N5A in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at July 2026 and is subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position.

Last reviewed: July 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: July 2027 or on legislative change.