Lawful eviction processes
Your landlord must follow strict procedures if they want you to leave their property, depending on the type of tenancy agreement you have and the terms of it. If they don’t, they may be guilty of illegally evicting or harassing you.
Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST)
ASTs are the most common type of tenancy in the private rented sector To bring an AST to an end a landlord must serve a valid written notice to quit. If you don’t leave at the end of the notice period, your landlord must apply to the court for a possession order, which gives them the right to evict you and take possession of the property. If the court gives your landlord a possession order and you still don’t leave, your landlord must apply for a warrant for possession - this means bailiffs can evict you from the property. A possession order won’t take effect until you’ve been living in the property for at least 6 months.
During a fixed term AST, your landlord can only evict you for certain reasons - for example:
- you haven’t paid the rent
- you’re engaging in antisocial behaviour
- there’s a ‘break clause’ in your contract - this allows your landlord to take back the property before the end of the fixed term
At the end of the fixed term, the landlord doesn’t need a reason to evict you.
As long as they’ve given you correct notice, your landlord can apply to the court for a possession order. This also applies to periodic tenancies, which run on a week-by-week or month-by-month basis with no fixed end date.
Rules for lodgers on excluded tenancies or licences
If you live with your landlord and you have an excluded tenancy or licence, your landlord doesn’t have to go to court to evict you.
Your landlord only needs to give you ‘reasonable notice’ to quit. The notice doesn’t have to be in writing.
There are no set rules about what’s reasonable. It depends on:
- how long you’ve been living there
- how often you pay the rent
- whether you get on with your landlord
- how quickly the landlord needs another person to move in
They can then change the locks on your rooms, even if you’ve left your belongings there. However, they must give your belongings back to you.
Help and advice
Contact us if you are facing illegal eviction or think you have been evicted illegally. We can offer advice, support and investigate if an offence has been committed.
View our eviction advice for professionals.
Further information and advice is available from Shelter and GOV.UK