If you’re asked to leave your home, a landlord has to follow a procedure depending on the type of rental agreement. It can be challenged if proper rules have not been followed.

A Rolling Basis

A rolling basis is when the tenancy runs from month to month or week to week.

Assured Shorthold Tenant

The tenancy will be a ‘fixed term’ tenancy if it has a definite start and end date. You don’t automatically have to leave your home at the end of your fixed term tenancy. You can decide with your landlord if you want to renew the tenancy for another fixed period. If your landlord wants to evict you at the end of your fixed term or you never had a fixed term, they need to give you written notice. You might get either a:

• Section 8 notice – your landlord has to give you a reason for giving you a section 8 notice – for example, if you have rent arrears; or
• Section 21 notice – your landlord doesn’t need to give you a reason for giving you a section 21 notice – for example, they may want to move back into the property.

Eviction procedure 

The following procedure is adopted to end an Assured Short hold Tenancies.

1. The first step is for the landlord to give notice (advanced warning) to the tenant(s) that if the tenant(s) do not leave, the landlord can apply to a Court for Possession Order and for the Court Bailiffs to evict the tenant.
2. It is likely that the only time an ‘Assured Short-hold’ tenant would be advised to stay would be if the landlord had declared that they had legal grounds for eviction and the tenant disputed that such grounds existed.
3. Failure to adopt the correct procedure is illegal; it is a criminal offence. The penalty for being convicted is an unlimited fine and/or a 2-year prison sentence.
4. The Court will not award a possession order if the notice given by a landlord is incorrect (called invalid). If notice is found to be invalid, the only way to evict a tenant is to serve a new, valid one.
5. The method for ending an Assured Short-hold Tenancy depends on how long the tenancy has been operating and whether or not a written agreement is still in force.

Eviction during the Fixed Term of the Agreement

When there is a written agreement still in force, a Tenancy can be ended in two ways:

1. By writing to the tenant, giving at least 2 months’ notice, provided the date when the notice ends (the expiry date) is after the end of the contract. For example, if a 6 month contract started on the 1st January, two months’ notice can be given at any time up until the end of June. A notice given during the first 4 months of the tenancy will expire on 30th June. A notice given to the tenants after 1 April should expire on a date at least 2 months after it was served.
2. To end a tenancy during the period covered by a contract is much more complicated. This is because the landlord must give legal reasons (called ‘grounds’) for ending the tenancy.  ‘Grounds’ include reasons such as rent arrears, damage to the property and breach of tenancy conditions. The notice is called a ‘Notice Seeking Possession’ and must contain very specific wording. Depending on which legal ground the landlord wishes to use, the notice period is either 2 weeks or 2 months.

Eviction after the Fixed Term of the agreement (or if there was no written contract)

A tenancy that does not run for a period defined in writing is called a periodic tenancy. The rules for ending a periodic ‘Assured Short-hold Tenancy’ are different to those that apply when there is a written contract in operation.

1. If there was a written contract for a fixed period that has now passed or if there was never an agreement for a specific period of time, the notice (called a ‘Notice Requiring Possession’) given to a tenant must contain specific information to be valid. This includes: The part of the Housing Act on which it is based. The name and address of both landlord and tenant. The date it was given to the tenant (‘served’). The date on which it expires.
2. The notice for a periodic Assured Short hold tenancy must give the tenants 8 weeks’ notice (if the rent is paid weekly) or two months (if it is paid monthly). In addition, it must end on the last day of a rental period. This is the day before the rent is normally due.

If your landlord goes to court to evict you

You should contact us on 0121 558 7691 as soon as possible if:

• you get letters or paperwork from the court; and/or
• bailiffs try to evict you.