If you've got an eviction notice
This advice applies to England. See advice for See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Scotland, See advice for Wales
Check if this advice applies to you
This advice applies if you’re renting from a council or housing association.
If you’re renting from a private landlord, check what you can do if you get an eviction notice.
Your council or housing association will send you a notice if they want to evict you. This is called a ‘notice seeking possession’. You won’t have to leave your home straight away.
If you’re still there on the date they want you to leave, your landlord will usually have to go to court to start the eviction process. There are lots of steps they must follow before they can evict you.
If you don't leave your home and your landlord takes you to court, you might have to pay their court costs as well as court fees. This can be expensive.
Check if your notice is valid
Your landlord must send you the correct notice - the rules depend on your tenancy type.
You should also check if your notice has any other mistakes on it - like the wrong address or name.
Contact your nearest Citizens Advice if you're not sure what tenancy type you have or if you need help checking your notice.
If you're a secure tenant
Your landlord must give you notice in writing.
It must:
say why your landlord wants you to leave - the reason they’re using to evict you and why
say the date after which they can start the court process - they must give you the right amount of notice, depending on when they send you the notice seeking possession
be written on the correct form - check the form on GOV.UK
If you got your notice seeking possession on or after 1 October 2021, your landlord should have given you:
28 days’ notice if you pay your rent weekly
one month’s notice if you pay monthly
If you got your notice seeking possession between 26 March 2020 and 30 September 2021
The government temporarily changed the law around evictions. In most situations your landlord should have given you extra notice. If you’re thinking about challenging your eviction you should talk to an adviser.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 26 March 2020 and 28 August 2020
Your landlord had to give you 3 months’ notice.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 29 August 2020 and 31 May 2021
Your landlord had to give you 6 months’ notice unless:
you owed them at least 6 months’ rent
you weren’t allowed to rent because of your immigration status
you’ve committed antisocial behaviour or some criminal offences
you told a lie to get the tenancy
someone you lived with moved out because you were violent or threatening
If one of these things applies to you, you should talk to an adviser.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 1 June 2021 and 31 July 2021
Your landlord had to give you 4 months’ notice unless:
you owed them at least 4 months’ rent
you weren’t allowed to rent because of your immigration status
you’ve committed antisocial behaviour or some criminal offences
you told a lie to get the tenancy
someone you lived with moved out because you were violent or threatening
If one of these things applies to you, you should talk to an adviser.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 1 August 2021 and 30 September 2021
Your landlord had to give you 4 months’ notice unless:
you owed them less than 4 months’ rent - in this situation they have to give you 2 months’ notice
you owed them more than 4 months’ rent - in this situation they have to give you 4 weeks’ notice
you weren’t allowed to rent because of your immigration status
you committed antisocial behaviour or some criminal offences
you told a lie to get the tenancy
someone you lived with moved out because you were violent or threatening
If one of these things applies to you, you should talk to an adviser.
If you’re being evicted for anti-social behaviour
Your landlord might be able to start the court process immediately. Contact your nearest Citizens Advice for help if you’re being evicted for anti-social behaviour.
You should always mention if there are mistakes in your notice. In some cases, the court might decide that the case can go ahead anyway.
If the notice says your landlord wants to evict you under ‘section 84a’
Your landlord doesn’t need to use the same form.
If you got your notice seeking possession on or after 26 March 2020 and before 29 August 2020, your landlord had to give you 3 months’ notice.
If you got your notice seeking possession on or after 29 August 2020, your landlord had to give you at least 28 days' notice. If the time between when your rent payments are due is longer than 28 days, your landlord had to give you that much notice. The notice must expire either on the day before or on the same day you pay your rent.
They need to tell you:
why they’re evicting you - they can only do this in limited circumstances
that you can ask for a review and the deadline for asking for a review
that you can get help from Citizens Advice, a housing aid centre, law centre or solicitor
If you're a flexible tenant
Your landlord must give you notice in writing.
It must say:
why your landlord wants you to leave - the reason they’re using to evict you and why
the date after which your landlord can start the court process - they must give you the right amount of notice, depending on when they send you the notice seeking possession
be written on the correct form - check the form on GOV.UK
If you got your notice seeking possession on or after 1 October 2021, your landlord should have given you at least 28 days' notice. If the time between when your rent payments are due is longer than 28 days, your landlord needs to give you that much notice. The notice must expire either on the day before or on the same day you pay your rent.
If you got your notice between 26 March 2020 and 30 September 2021, there were special rules because of coronavirus.
If you got your notice between 26 March 2020 and 30 September 2021
The government temporarily changed the law around evictions. In most situations your landlord should have given you extra notice. If you’re thinking about challenging your eviction you should talk to an adviser.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 26 March 2020 and 28 August 2020
Your landlord had to give you 3 months’ notice.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 29 August 2020 and 31 May 2021
Your landlord had to give you 6 months’ notice unless:
you owed them at least 6 months’ rent
you weren’t allowed to rent because of your immigration status
you’ve committed antisocial behaviour or some criminal offences
you told a lie to get the tenancy
someone you lived with moved out because you were violent or threatening
If one of these things applies to you, you should talk to an adviser.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 1 June 2021 and 31 July 2021
Your landlord had to give you 4 months’ notice unless:
you owed them at least 4 months’ rent
you weren’t allowed to rent because of your immigration status
you’ve committed antisocial behaviour or some criminal offences
you told a lie to get the tenancy
someone you lived with moved out because you were violent or threatening
If one of these things applies to you, you should talk to an adviser.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 1 August 2021 and 30 September 2021
Your landlord had to give you 4 months’ notice unless:
you owed them less than 4 months’ rent - in this situation they have to give you 2 months’ notice
you owed them more than 4 months’ rent - in this situation they have to give you 4 weeks’ notice
you weren’t allowed to rent because of your immigration status
you committed antisocial behaviour or some criminal offences
you told a lie to get the tenancy
someone you lived with moved out because you were violent or threatening
If one of these things applies to you, you should talk to an adviser.
Your tenancy agreement must say that your landlord can evict you during your fixed-term tenancy if you break the terms of your agreement.
You should always mention if there are mistakes in your notice. In some cases, the court might decide that the case can go ahead anyway.
If your notice says the landlord wants to evict you under ‘section 84a’
Your landlord doesn’t need to use the same form.
If you got your notice seeking possession on or after 26 March 2020 and before 29 August 2020, your landlord had to give you 3 months’ notice.
If you got your notice seeking possession on or after 29 August 2020, your landlord had to give you at least 28 days' notice. If the time between when your rent payments are due is longer than 28 days, your landlord had to give you that much notice. The notice must expire either on the day before or on the same day you pay your rent
They need to tell you:
why they’re evicting you - they can only do this in limited circumstances
that you can ask for a review and the deadline for asking for a review
that you can get help from Citizens Advice, a housing aid centre, law centre or solicitor
If the council is not renewing your tenancy
The council must give you a ‘notice of non-renewal’ before the fixed term of your tenancy ends. They must:
give you at least 6 months notice
say they’re not renewing the tenancy and give reasons why
tell you how to ask for a review of the decision
You must ask for a review within 21 days of receiving the notice. The council must let you know their decision in writing.
Once they’ve sent you a notice of non-renewal, the council must send you a ‘notice seeking possession’ asking you to leave your home.
It must give you the right amount of notice, depending on when you got your notice seeking possession.
If you got your notice seeking possession on or after 1 October 2021, your landlord should have given you 2 months’ notice.
If you're an introductory or demoted council tenant
Your landlord must give you notice in writing.
Your council must tell you:
why they’re asking you to leave
the date after which they can start the court process - they must give you the right amount of notice, depending on when they send you the notice seeking possession
that you can ask for a review and the deadline for asking for a review
that they will ask the court to issue a ‘possession order’ which asks you to leave your home - find out more about possession orders
that you can get help from Citizens Advice, a housing aid centre, law centre or solicitor
If you got your notice seeking possession on or after 1 October 2021, your landlord should have given you:
28 days’ notice if you pay your rent weekly
one month’s notice if you pay monthly
If you got your notice between 26 March 2020 and 30 September 2021
The government temporarily changed the law around evictions. In most situations your landlord should have given you extra notice. If you’re thinking about challenging your eviction you should talk to an adviser.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 26 March 2020 and 28 August 2020
Your landlord had to give you 3 months’ notice.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 29 August 2020 and 31 May 2021
Your landlord had to give you 6 months’ notice unless you’ve committed antisocial behaviour or some criminal offences. If this applied to you, you should talk to an adviser.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 1 June 2021 and 31 July 2021
Your landlord had to give you 4 months’ notice unless:
you owed them at least 4 months’ rent
you’ve committed antisocial behaviour or some criminal offences
you told a lie to get the tenancy
If one of these things applies to you, you should talk to an adviser.
If you got a notice seeking possession between 1 August 2021 and 30 September 2021
Your landlord had to give you 4 months’ notice unless:
you owed them less than 4 months’ rent - in this situation they have to give you 2 months’ notice
you owed them more than 4 months’ rent - in this situation they have to give you 4 weeks’ notice
you committed antisocial behaviour or some criminal offences
you told a lie to get the tenancy
If one of these things applies to you, you should talk to an adviser.
If you're an assured tenant
The housing association must give you notice in writing - it’s called a section 8 notice or a ‘notice seeking possession’.
It must say:
why they’re asking you to leave - this includes the reasons and an explanation of why
the date after which they can start the court process - this depends on when and why you’re being evicted
be in the correct form - check form 3 on GOV.UK
Check why you can be evicted with a section 8 notice.
You should always mention if there are mistakes in your notice. In some cases, the court might decide that the case can go ahead anyway.
If you're a starter or assured shorthold tenant
Your landlord must give you notice in writing - this is usually a ‘section 21’ notice. They could give you a ‘section 8’ notice instead - this will need to include different things.
If you’ve had a fixed-term tenancy lasting more than 2 years and your landlord isn’t renewing it, they must give you at least 6 months’ written notice. This is called a ‘notice of non-renewal’. It must say that they won’t extend your tenancy and let you know where you can get help and advice. It should also tell you how to challenge your landlord's decision not to renew the tenancy.
If you get a section 21 notice
Your landlord can only give you a section 21 notice if they’ve already given you a notice of non-renewal.
The section 21 notice must be in writing. If the tenancy started after 1 October 2015, the landlord must use a specific form - check they used the right form on GOV.UK.
You can check how much notice your landlord needs to give you when they give you a section 21 notice.
If your tenancy started before 1 October 2015
If your landlord gave you the section 21 notice before 1 October 2018, your notice might still be valid even if they haven’t gone to court within 6 months. Get help from your nearest Citizens Advice to find out if the notice is valid or not.
They can’t usually give you a section 21 notice within the first 4 months of your original tenancy.
If your tenancy started after 1 October 2015 your section 21 notice won’t be valid if you didn’t receive an energy performance certificate before you got the notice. If your home uses gas, they must also send you a gas safety record.
Check what your section 21 notice should include.
If you’ve got a section 21 notice, your landlord might be able to evict you without a court hearing - this is called ‘accelerated possession’.
They need to apply to the court to do this - you’ll receive a copy of their application if they do. You’ll also receive a defence form - you can use this to challenge the eviction.
Your landlord can’t use an accelerated possession to evict you if you have:
a demoted assured shorthold tenancy
an assured shorthold tenancy that began before 28 February 1997
a verbal tenancy agreement - for example you’ve never had a written tenancy agreement
If you got a section 8 notice
The housing association must give you notice in writing - it’s called a section 8 notice or a ‘notice seeking possession’.
It must say:
why they’re asking you to leave - this includes the reasons and an explanation of why
the date after which they can start the court process - this depends on when and why you’re being evicted
be written on the correct form - check form 3 on GOV.UK
Check why you can be evicted with a section 8 notice.
You should always mention if there are mistakes in your notice. In some cases, the court might decide that the case can go ahead anyway.
If you're a demoted housing association tenant
Your landlord must give you notice in writing - this is called a section 21 notice. Check the form they must use on GOV.UK.
If your tenancy started after 1 October 2015, your section 21 notice won’t be valid if you didn’t receive an energy performance certificate before you got the notice. If your home uses gas, they must also send you a gas safety record.
Check what your section 21 notice should include.
They need to apply to the court to do this - you’ll receive a copy of their application if they do. You’ll also receive a defence form - you can use this to challenge the eviction.
If your notice isn't valid
Your landlord will usually have to give you a new, valid notice if they still want you to leave your home. This will mean you have more time in your home. If you’re being evicted for a specific reason, it’s worth using the extra time to sort out the problem.
Your landlord will have to start the court process if you haven’t left your home by the date on your notice. You’ll get court papers and a defence form which you can use to challenge the eviction. Explain why the notice isn’t valid. Get help filling in the defence form.
Sometimes the court might go ahead with the case even if the notice isn’t valid. This depends on the type of tenancy and the circumstances. If you think the notice isn’t valid you should contact your nearest Citizens Advice for help.
If your notice is valid
Your landlord can’t usually make you leave your home until they’ve gone to court to get a possession order and a warrant for eviction. It’s important that you keep paying your rent.
If they’ve applied to the court for ‘accelerated possession’, there won’t usually be a court hearing - unless you challenge the eviction.
You’ll get court papers when your landlord applies to court. You can challenge your landlord’s eviction claim when you get the court papers.
If it goes to court, the court could also order you to pay your landlord's court fees if you're evicted - these can be expensive.
If you decide to leave your home before the date on your notice
Don’t leave your home before the date on your notice if you haven’t found somewhere else to live.
If you leave your home before the court makes a possession order, it might affect what help your local council can offer you. Find out more about possession orders.
Your council might have a legal duty to help find you accommodation. Check if you can apply for homeless help.
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Page last reviewed on 28 February 2018