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

Who this guide is for

People who rent their home in Wales, 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 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.
• Deposits, and how an unprotected deposit affects a notice.
• 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 England, 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 complaints guide.
• Repairs, damp and mould: see the repairs, damp and mould guide for Wales.
• 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, 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, or someone who lives in the same home.
• What notice was given, on what date, and what it says.
• When your contract started, whether it converted on 1 December 2022 from a tenancy that existed before then, and whether it is fixed-term or periodic.
• Whether a court order has been made yet.

Renting in Wales: the basics

• Since 1 December 2022, tenancies in Wales are "occupation contracts" under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and tenants are "contract-holders". Section 21 and Section 8 notices are not used in Wales. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 does not change the Welsh section 173 rules. Some parts of it do apply in Wales. Since 1 June 2026, landlords cannot prohibit contract-holders from claiming benefits, and cannot interfere with a contract-holder's right to have children live with them or visit, unless it is proportionate. These are written into occupation contracts (sections 54A and 54B of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016). Discrimination against people with children or on benefits is also banned when letting.
• Private landlords normally give a standard occupation contract. Councils and housing associations normally give a secure occupation contract, or an introductory standard contract at first.
• Your landlord must give you a written statement of your contract within 14 days of the start.

"My landlord has given me a section 173 notice" (no reason given)

• A section 173 notice ends a periodic standard contract without a reason. It must give at least 6 months' notice. It cannot be given in the first 6 months after you moved in, or during a fixed term.
• A fixed-term standard contract ends at the end of its term. If you stay on, you are treated as having a new periodic contract that starts the next day, with the same rental periods and, in general, the same terms.
• During the fixed term a landlord cannot use a section 173 notice. A landlord can still go to court for serious rent arrears (below) or for breach of the contract, and can use a landlord's break clause if the contract has one.
• For a fixed-term contract made on or after 1 December 2022, a break clause is allowed only if the term is 2 years or more (or the contract is one of the types in Schedule 9C). It needs at least 6 months' notice, or 2 months for the types in Schedule 8A (such as university student accommodation, supported housing and housing that goes with a job). A notice generally cannot be given in the first 18 months.
• At the end of the term, a landlord can give an end-of-term notice (section 186) only for the types of fixed-term contract listed in Schedule 9B, such as supported housing, housing for homeless people, housing that goes with a job and some temporary accommodation. It must give at least 2 months' notice, cannot end before the last day of the term, and the landlord cannot go to court on it before the term ends.
• If your contract was a fixed-term tenancy or licence on 1 December 2022 and is not one of those types, the landlord can give notice on or before the last day of the term. The date must be at least 2 months after the notice, not before the last day of the term, and at least 6 months after the occupation date. The landlord cannot go to court on it before the term ends. This does not cover an assured tenancy that was not an assured shorthold tenancy.
• Serious rent arrears can end a fixed term early: at least 8 weeks' rent unpaid if the rent is due weekly, fortnightly or every 4 weeks, or at least 2 months' rent unpaid if it is due monthly. The landlord must give a possession notice, wait 14 days before going to court, and go to court within 6 months of the notice. The court must order possession if you were seriously in arrears on the day of the notice and on the day of the hearing.
• Fixed-term rules depend on the type of contract. If you are not sure which applies to you, ask Shelter Cymru or Citizens Advice.

When a section 173 notice is not valid

Your landlord cannot give a valid section 173 notice if:

• they are not registered with Rent Smart Wales for the home, or they need a licence, do not have one, and have not appointed a licensed agent to do all the letting and management work.
• they have not given you the written statement of your contract. If they gave it late, they cannot give a notice for 6 months from the day they gave it.
• they have not given you a notice of an address for documents (due within 14 days of the start of the contract).
• they have not given you a valid energy performance certificate.
• your deposit is not protected in an approved scheme, they have not given you the scheme information, or they took security in a form the law does not allow and have not returned it. This ends once the deposit is returned, or a court case about it is decided, withdrawn or settled.
• they took a payment the law does not allow, or a holding deposit, and have not repaid it.
• the home counts as unfit because working smoke or carbon monoxide alarms are not installed, or they have not got and given you an electrical condition report, and they are required to put that right.
• they have not given you a copy of a valid gas safety record, or displayed one in the home, as the gas rules require.

If you think one of these applies, get advice from Shelter Cymru or Citizens Advice before you leave.

"I'm behind with the rent"

• For serious rent arrears on a periodic standard contract (at least 2 months' rent if you pay monthly, or 8 weeks' rent if you pay weekly), the landlord must give at least 14 days' notice before going to court. The court must make an order if you were that far behind both when the notice was given and at the hearing.

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

• For other breaches of the contract the landlord must give at least 1 month's notice before going to court. For antisocial behaviour the landlord can go to court straight after giving notice.

"I asked for repairs and then got a notice"

• If you asked for repairs, the court can refuse a claim based on a section 173 notice if it finds the landlord gave it to avoid doing repairs.

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

• You do not have to leave just because a notice has run out. Your landlord must get a court order.

"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 landlord can raise the rent on a periodic standard contract with at least 2 months' notice, and not more than once a year after the first increase.
• You can ask the Rent Assessment Committee only if your contract is a 'relevant converted contract'. That means it converted on 1 December 2022 and, just before that date, it was one of these: (a) a tenancy or licence to which section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 applied; (b) an assured (not shorthold) fixed-term tenancy that became a periodic standard contract; (c) a secure contract that was an assured (not shorthold) fixed-term tenancy. If your contract converted from a fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy, it is not one.
• If your contract started on or after 1 December 2022, it is not a converted contract, so you cannot ask the Rent Assessment Committee to decide the rent.
• If you are not sure whether your contract converted, or want to challenge a rent increase another way, ask Shelter Cymru or Citizens Advice.

"I want to leave"

• You can end a periodic contract by giving at least 4 weeks' notice. You can end a fixed-term standard contract early only if it has a contract-holder's break clause, and then you must give at least 4 weeks' notice.

"What about my deposit?"

• Your landlord must protect your deposit in an approved scheme within 30 days and give you the scheme details. A landlord who has not done this cannot give a valid section 173 notice.
• 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.

"I rent from the council or a housing association"

• Council and housing association secure contracts cannot be ended with a section 173 notice. The landlord needs a legal ground and a court order, and for a breach of contract the court must also decide it is reasonable.

"I live with my landlord" (lodgers)

• If you live in your landlord's home and share rooms with them, you are a lodger. The landlord only has to give reasonable notice, or the notice in your agreement, and does not need a court order, but must not use violence.

"I might become homeless"

• You are threatened with homelessness if you are likely to become homeless within 56 days. If you are eligible, the council must help to stop you becoming homeless, and must help you find somewhere if you are homeless.
• The Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Act 2026 will extend this to 6 months and remove the priority need test, but those parts are not in force yet and no start date has been set.

Deadlines you must meet

• Rent increase (relevant converted contracts only): apply to the Rent Assessment Committee within 2 months of receiving the notice.
• 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 "Section 8" are England words. Wales uses section 173 and breach notices.
• 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.