Eviction Rights in England: What to Do If You Get a Notice

Who this guide is for

People who rent their home in England, from a private landlord, a council or a housing association, or who live with their landlord, and who are being evicted or pushed out. It covers:

• Eviction notices: which notice applies, how much notice is needed, and when a notice is not valid.
• What happens when a notice runs out: the court, bailiffs, and your options.
• Illegal eviction and harassment: lock-outs, belongings, cut-off gas, electricity or water, and what to do the same day.
• Eviction after asking for repairs, rent arrears as a reason for eviction, and rent increases used to push you out.
• Deposits when a tenancy ends, and how an unprotected deposit affects the landlord.
• A landlord selling, moving in, or losing the home to their mortgage lender.
• Joint tenants, lodgers and people who live with their landlord.
• Council help if you are homeless or about to be.

What this guide does not cover

• Homes in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The law is different there, so this guide does not cover them.
• Landlords asking about their own duties or how to evict a tenant: see our landlord guide.
• Complaints about how a council or housing association has treated you: see our Housing Ombudsman guide.
• Repairs, damp and mould: see the repairs, damp and mould guide for England.
• Problems with neighbours: see our neighbour disputes guide.
• Taking a landlord to court for money, such as getting a deposit back: see our small claims guide.
• Benefits to help pay rent, such as Universal Credit housing costs or Housing Benefit: see our benefits guide.
• Debts other than rent owed to your landlord: see our debt guide.
• Homeowners whose own mortgage lender is repossessing their home, older tenancy types (regulated tenancies), and immigration or right to rent questions. UK Work Rights does not give immigration guidance.

What the rules depend on

• Who the landlord is: a private landlord, a council or housing association (a social landlord), or someone who lives in the same home. Social tenants and lodgers have different rules from private tenants.
• What notice was given, on what date, and what reason or ground it names.
• When the tenancy started and how long you have lived there. Notice periods and protected periods depend on it.
• Whether a court order has been made yet.

"My private landlord has given me a notice"

These rules apply to private tenants with an assured tenancy, which is most people renting from a private landlord in England.

• From 1 May 2026, almost all private tenancies became assured periodic tenancies with no end date. Fixed terms turned into rolling tenancies on that date.
• A Section 21 notice given on or after 1 May 2026 is not valid.
• To end a tenancy now, a private landlord must give a Section 8 notice naming one or more grounds, wait for the notice period for that ground, and then apply to the county court if you have not left.
• Grounds 1 to 8 are mandatory: if the landlord proves the ground, the court must make a possession order. Grounds 9 to 18 are discretionary: the court also decides whether it is reasonable to evict you.
• On most grounds, the court cannot make a possession order if the landlord has not protected your deposit in a government-approved scheme.
• Other grounds cover student lets, homes tied to a job, supported accommodation, ministers of religion, agricultural workers and leases above the landlord's own. Their notice periods run from 2 weeks to 4 months. Check the ground number on your notice.

"I got a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026"

• A Section 21 notice given before 1 May 2026 could only be used if the landlord started a court claim by 31 July 2026, or within 6 months of giving the notice if that was earlier. If no claim was started in time, the notice cannot be used. If a claim was started in time, that court case can continue.

"My landlord wants to sell, move in, or the lender is taking the home"

• Ground 1, the landlord or a close family member moving in: 4 months' notice. The notice cannot end in the first 12 months of the tenancy.
• Ground 1A, the landlord selling: 4 months' notice. The notice cannot end in the first 12 months of the tenancy. It cannot be used against an assured tenancy that started before 1 May 2026 and was not a shorthold (a "lifetime" assured tenancy).
• Ground 2, the landlord's mortgage lender taking the home to sell it: 4 months' notice.
• Ground 6, redevelopment or demolition: 4 months' notice.

"I'm behind with the rent"

• Ground 8, serious rent arrears: 4 weeks' notice. You must owe at least 3 months' rent (monthly rent) or 13 weeks' rent (weekly or fortnightly rent) both on the day of the notice and on the day of the hearing. If you bring the arrears below that by the hearing, Ground 8 fails. It cannot be used where you owe that much only because your Universal Credit has not been paid yet.
• Ground 10, any rent arrears, and Ground 11, repeatedly paying late: 4 weeks' notice. Both are discretionary.

"My landlord says I broke the tenancy or behaved antisocially"

• Ground 12, breaking a tenancy term other than rent, Ground 13, letting the home get worse, Ground 15, damage to furniture, and Ground 17, a false statement to get the tenancy: 2 weeks' notice. All are discretionary.
• Ground 7A, serious antisocial or criminal behaviour (a conviction, breaking an antisocial behaviour order, or a closure order), and Ground 14, antisocial behaviour by you, someone living with you or a visitor, in or near the home: the landlord can apply to court straight after giving notice. If these are the only grounds proved, the court cannot make an order that takes effect within 14 days of the date the notice was served. Ground 7A is mandatory; Ground 14 is discretionary.

"I asked for repairs or challenged a rent rise, and now I've got a notice"

• Challenging a rent increase, or asking for repairs, is not a ground for possession, so it cannot be the reason a private landlord evicts you.
• You can report serious disrepair or hazards to your council's private housing or environmental health team.

"My notice has run out" or "I've got court papers"

• If you have not left when the notice ends, the landlord must apply to the county court. You will get court papers and a hearing date. Go to the hearing.
• Free legal advice and representation at court is available to anyone at risk of losing their home, through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
• On a mandatory ground the court cannot give you more than 14 days to leave, unless leaving sooner would cause exceptional hardship. Even then it cannot give you more than 6 weeks.
• On a discretionary ground the court can refuse, adjourn, or make an order that is suspended on conditions, for example paying off arrears.
• If the court makes an order, it can also order you to pay the landlord's legal costs.
• Only county court bailiffs, or High Court enforcement officers, acting on a court order, can remove you.

"I've been locked out" or "my landlord is forcing me out"

• Under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, it is a criminal offence to evict someone from their home without following the legal process, or to harass them to make them leave. Harassment includes changing the locks, removing belongings, cutting off gas, electricity or water, and threats.
• If you are locked out or being forced out, call the police (999 if you are in danger, 101 if not) and your council's housing or tenancy relations team the same day.
• A solicitor can ask the court for an order to let you back in. You may also be able to claim damages.

"My rent is going up"

• A private landlord can raise the rent only once a year, using a Section 13 notice (Form 4A) that gives at least 2 months' notice. Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements no longer work for private tenancies.
• You can ask the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the rent. The tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one your landlord proposed. There is a fee to apply, and help with the fee is available on a low income.

"I want to leave" or "my joint tenant is leaving"

• You can end your tenancy by giving at least 2 months' written notice, unless you and your landlord agree a shorter period in writing.
• If you are joint tenants, one tenant's valid notice ends the tenancy for everyone, even if the others want to stay. All joint tenants must agree to any shorter notice period.

"What about my deposit?"

• A landlord who takes a deposit must protect it in a government-approved scheme and give you the scheme details within 30 days of receiving it.
• If they did not, you can apply to court. The court must order the deposit to be protected or returned, and order the landlord to pay you between 1 and 3 times the deposit.
• If you and your landlord disagree about deductions from a protected deposit at the end of a tenancy, the deposit scheme's free dispute service can decide.
• A tenancy deposit cannot be more than 5 weeks' rent if the yearly rent is under £50,000, or 6 weeks' rent if the yearly rent is £50,000 or more.
• For a private tenancy starting on or after 1 May 2026, you should not pay any rent before you sign the tenancy agreement. After you sign, your landlord can usually ask for no more than 1 month's rent before the tenancy starts, or 28 days' rent if you pay weekly.
• Your landlord may ask you for a guarantor.
• Some landlords offer a deposit replacement product instead of a deposit. You can choose one, but your landlord cannot make you pay for one as part of your tenancy.

"I rent from the council or a housing association"

• Council tenants normally have a secure tenancy, or an introductory or flexible tenancy. For a secure tenancy the council needs a court order and a legal ground, and for most grounds the court must also decide that eviction is reasonable. For an introductory tenancy the council does not need a ground. It must serve a notice of proceedings. You have 14 days from the day that notice is served to ask for a review. After that the court must make a possession order unless the notice rules were not followed.
• The Renters' Rights Act changes for housing association tenancies start in 2027. Until then, a housing association can still use a Section 21 notice to end an assured shorthold tenancy, such as a starter tenancy.
• A Section 21 notice does not need to give a reason or name a ground.

"I live with my landlord" (lodgers)

• If you live in your landlord's home and share a kitchen, bathroom or living room with them or their family, you are a lodger (an "excluded occupier"). The landlord only has to give the notice in your agreement, or reasonable notice if there is none. The Renters' Rights Act protections do not apply to lodgers.
• Before that notice has properly ended, locking you out or removing your belongings is illegal eviction.
• After that notice has ended, the landlord can make you leave without a court order, but must not use violence.
• If your landlord lives in another part of the same building, which is not a purpose-built block of flats, and you do not share rooms with them, you are not an assured tenant. The landlord must still give at least 4 weeks' written notice to quit and get a court order.

"I don't pay any rent"

• If no rent is payable, you cannot be an assured tenant.
• If you pay nothing at all, in money or by doing work in return, you are usually an excluded occupier. The owner must give you reasonable notice to leave, but does not need a court order.
• Get advice quickly from Shelter or Citizens Advice.

"I might become homeless"

• You are "threatened with homelessness" if you are likely to become homeless within 56 days.
• If you are eligible for help and threatened with homelessness, the council must assess your situation, agree a personal housing plan and take reasonable steps to help you keep your home or find another (the prevention duty). This does not depend on priority need.
• If you are already homeless, the council must help you find accommodation for at least 6 months (the relief duty). It must give you emergency accommodation while it looks into your case if it has reason to believe you may be homeless, eligible and in priority need.

Deadlines you must meet

• Rent increase: apply to the First-tier Tribunal before the date the new rent starts, as written on your Section 13 notice. A late application cannot be made.
• Court or tribunal papers: act on them straight away and get advice before any hearing.
• Check the exact date a notice ends with an adviser.

Traps

• Section 21 and fixed-term rules must not be applied to a private tenancy in England after 1 May 2026, except a court claim started by 31 July 2026 on an older notice, or a housing association assured shorthold tenancy before the 2027 changes.
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025 tenancy rules are England law only. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use different notices and courts.
• Council and housing association tenants have different rules from private tenants.
• A rule that is "not in force yet" does not apply until its start date, even if the law has been passed.