Step 2: write down why you’re challenging the eviction

The court will send you a defence form and copies of the documents your landlord has filled in. This includes the ‘particulars of claim’ which gives details about your landlord’s case against you.

It’s a good idea to get legal advice as soon as you can. If you need help, speak to an adviser at any time - the process can be complicated.

You should reply to the court as soon as possible - this is called your ‘defence’. Your defence should arrive at the court within 14 days of receiving the court papers.

There are different defence forms depending on your situation. You’ll either get form N11, N11B or N11R  - you can see which it is in the bottom left corner. You might have to answer separate questions or explain your situation in one space. Make sure you fill in all the sections on your form.

Start by writing these details, if the court hasn’t filled them in:

• your full name and address in the ‘defendant’ section of the form

• the name and address of your landlord in the ‘claimant’ section of the form

• the name of the court and the claim number - you can get these from the copy of your landlord’s claim form

Say what happened

Say why you disagree with the eviction and what you want, for example to stay in your home. Give as much detail as you can to explain what happened. You’ll need to use the evidence you’ve collected to prove these facts in court.

You should also include details of any other reasons why you don't agree with the eviction - for example that the notice isn’t valid. The kind of argument you can make will depend on your type of tenancy and the reasons for your eviction.

If your landlord’s ‘particulars of claim’ is in numbered paragraphs, use the same structure for your defence - take each paragraph and respond to it. You should say which parts of the paragraph you agree with and what parts you disagree with. If you don't respond to a point, the court might assume you agree with it and you won't be able to disagree with it later.

If you’re not sure if you agree or disagree with something, put down that the paragraph is ‘neither admitted nor denied’. This means you don’t know if it’s true or not and your landlord will have to prove it in court.

Make sure you mention:

• why you think you were discriminated against - you’ll need to give the protected characteristic

• all the types of discrimination you’re claiming - you can check if you’re not sure 

• the effect it’s had on you - this could be money you’ve lost or the emotional impact

• other reasons for challenging the eviction, for example if the notice asking you to leave wasn’t valid

Describing the circumstances

You need to say which part of the law covers your circumstances - it might be more than one.

You need to say you’re defending your landlord’s claim under section 35 of the Equality Act 2010. You should also say the discrimination happened during the ‘management of premises’. This is the legal term that covers most things landlords do, like collecting rent and dealing with repairs.

You’ll then need to say what happened and why it was against the law.

If you run out of space

You can write more on a separate page if you can’t fit all the details into the box. Mention in the box that you’ve attached the details - you can write 'see attached sheets'.

Write:

• ‘defence ’ or ‘defence and counterclaim’ at the top

• the name of the case - you can copy this from the form your landlord filled in and it will include your name and your landlord’s

• the claim number  and the name of the court - you can copy this from the form your landlord filled in

Write which part of the law covers your claim

You should say that you’re defending the eviction under ‘Part 4 of the Equality Act 2010’.

Next, write which type of discrimination happened:

If you’re counterclaiming

You’ll need to explain the reason for your counterclaim. For example you can say you’re claiming compensation for discrimination and this will be used to pay off some or all of the rent arrears. The legal name for this is ‘offsetting’ the rent arrears.

You can ask for the discrimination to stop by saying you want an ‘injunction’. This is a way of asking the court to order your landlord to either do something or stop doing something. For example, you might get an injunction saying your landlord has to make an adjustment to your home.  

Deciding how much money to ask for

You can ask for:

• money if you’ve been upset or hurt by the discrimination - this is known as ‘injury to feelings’

• money to cover any you’ve lost as a result of the discrimination

• compensation for personal injury - you’ll have to prove you had the injury and that it was caused by the discrimination

• particularly bad behaviour by the other side - this is called ‘aggravated damages’

You’ll need to work out how much money to claim.

Sign the ‘statement of truth’

Make sure you sign the ‘statement of truth’ at the bottom of the form. This means you agree that everything you’ve written is true.

If you’ve used an extra sheet with the defence form, write another statement of truth there and sign it. Copy the wording from the main defence form.

Example of an additional defence form and counterclaim

If you’re not sure what to write, you can see an example defence form and counterclaim [ 73 kb]. If you can’t access the document you can see this version, but this doesn’t show the formatting the court uses.

If you don’t use the format given in the court rules, your case could be affected negatively. You can get help from your nearest Citizens Advice if you’re worried about formatting your document.

This example deals with both indirect discrimination and discrimination arising from a disability. It also deals with the public sector equality duty.

In this case, the landlord is trying to evict the tenant because he has a rent debt. If you need more detailed advice and guidance, you can get more help. 

If you’re acting as a client’s legal representative you should refer to them as ‘the Defendant’ in the defence instead of using the first person.