Being evicted

Your rights are different depending on whether you:

• rent from a private landlord, council or housing association
• are a lodger (live with your landlord)
• live in supported housing
• live in other types of rented housing

If you rent from a private landlord, or from a council or housing association, your landlord cannot evict you without getting a court order. They must follow every step of this legal process:

• Your landlord sends you a letter called an eviction notice.
• Your landlord applies to take you to court.
• A court hearing takes place.
• Bailiffs can evict you if the court orders this.

If your landlord evicts you but does not follow all these steps, it is an illegal eviction.

You cannot be evicted if there are any ongoing maintenance issues with the home. Your landlord must fix these first or the eviction is illegal.

How to deal with an illegal eviction (Shelter)

For an eviction notice to be valid, your landlord must send you a legal form called a section 8 notice or a section 21 notice.

Do not ignore an eviction notice. You can get help to challenge the eviction.

Section 8 notices

A section 8 notice is when your landlord thinks you have done something to break your tenancy agreement.  

 Your landlord can send you a section 8 eviction notice because of:

• owing money (rent arrears)
• antisocial behaviour
• criminal activity in the home
• the state of the home
• breaking the terms in your tenancy agreement

The legal term for the reason for eviction is ‘grounds for possession’.

If you have rent arrears, you could get up to 60 days' respite from interest, fees and court action. This is to reduce stress and give you time to deal with your debts.

Breathing Space, Debt Respite Scheme (StepChange)

Section 21 notices

A section 21 notice is when you have not done anything wrong but your landlord wants you to leave. For example, if your they want to sell the home. This is sometimes called a ‘no fault eviction’. It is not your fault.

You can get free legal advice if you have been sent an eviction notice.

Early legal advice if you are being evicted (Shelter)

 The eviction notice must include:

• your name
• the reason they want to evict you
• the date they want you to leave (this is called a notice period)

Check that all the details are correct. If there are any mistakes, tell your landlord. They will need to correct the mistakes and send you a new letter. This gives you more time.

The notice period

The amount of notice you get depends on the reason your landlord wants to evict you. Usually, you get at least:

• 14 days if you get a section 8 notice
• 2 months if you get a section 21 notice

Your landlord can ask you to leave immediately if you have committed criminal activity in the home.

You can use an online tool to check if you have been given the correct notice period.

Notice period checker (Shelter)

If you do not leave by the end of the notice period, your landlord can apply for a court order to evict you. This is called applying for a possession order.

Your landlord must send you a letter telling you if they have applied for a possession order.  You can stay in the home until the court makes a decision. This could take weeks or months.

Landlords have a deadline to apply for a possession order. This will depend on your type of tenancy and the reason for eviction. If you have a section 8 notice, they must apply within 1 year.

If they do not start court action within this time, the eviction notice will no longer be valid. If they still want you to leave, they will have to send you a new eviction notice.

Challenging a section 8 notice in court (Shelter)

Challenging a section 21 notice in court (Shelter)

The court will decide whether you can be legally evicted. If they decide you can be evicted, the landlord will get a possession order.

If you do not leave, they can send bailiffs to evict you.

Get support with going to court 

Everyone can get free legal advice about eviction and homelessness from the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HPLAS).

This is funded by Legal Aid. It is not means-tested (based on your income, savings and other capital).

Find a legal aid adviser (GOV.UK)

Type in your postcode and select the ‘Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service’ box.

You might also be able to get help from an independent advocate if there are community advocates in your area.

Get help from an advocate

The rules are different if you are a lodger, and share living spaces with your landlord, for example:

• kitchen
• bathroom
• living room

In this case, your landlord does not need to follow the legal eviction process.

If your landlord wants to evict you, they must give you a ‘reasonable’ amount of notice. There is no legal definition of how long a reasonable notice period is. It is usually a month. If you have a written agreement with your landlord, check if it says something about a notice period.

If you need more time to find a new home, you can ask for the notice period to be longer.

Or you can ask for it to be shorter, if you have somewhere to go and do not want to pay more rent.

Citizens Advice has more information on what to do if you are being evicted as a lodger.

If you’re being evicted as a lodger (Citizens Advice)

The rules are different if you live in supported housing such as:

• supported living for disabled people
• a domestic abuse refuge
• sheltered housing for older people

Shelter has more information on your rights in supported housing.

How long can you stay in supported housing? (Shelter)

Your rights are different if:

• you are a property guardian
• your housing comes with your job
• you have moved out and do not intend to come back
• your landlord lives in another flat in the same converted house
• the tenant has died but you still live there

If you live in any of these situations, your landlord would have to send you a ‘notice to quit’.

Notice to quit from the landlord (Shelter)

Contact your local council’s homelessness team if you are at risk of homelessness. This is sometimes called making a homeless application.

Find your local council (GOV.UK)

You can make a homeless application:

• on the phone
• in person
• by email
• online – some councils have online forms

The council must provide information in a format that is accessible to you. For example, you can ask for a British Sign Language interpreter or information in another language.

We have more information on accessible housing help from the council if you are homeless, including:

• your rights to accessible emergency housing
• how to ask the council for homeless help
• how to ask for a suitability review
• paying for emergency housing
• finding housing that meets your access needs, including if you have an assistance animal

If you are homeless and living on the streets, you can get free information and support from:

• your local council (GOV.UK)
• StreetLink
• Turn2us - search for homelessness help in your area on the advice finder

Get a place to stay if you are on the streets (Shelter)