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: use the landlord checker.
• Complaints about how a council or housing association has treated you: use the Housing Ombudsman checker.
• Problems with neighbours: use the neighbour disputes checker.
• Taking a landlord to court for money, such as getting a deposit back: use the small claims checker.
• Benefits to help pay rent, such as Universal Credit housing costs or Housing Benefit: use the benefits checker.
• Debts other than rent owed to your landlord: use the debt checker.
• Homeowners whose own mortgage lender is repossessing their home, and immigration or right to rent questions. UK Work Rights does not give immigration guidance.

The questions that decide the answer

If you have not said one of these, the answer says what it depends on. It does not assume.

• 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, and the Renters' Rights Act 2025 tenancy rules do not apply.
• 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. A landlord who has not done this on time cannot give a section 173 notice.

"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.
• If you have a fixed-term contract, or your contract was a fixed-term tenancy on 1 December 2022, the rules are more complicated. The checker cannot confirm your notice period: ask Shelter Cymru or Citizens Advice.

"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.
• The checker cannot predict whether the court will make an order in your case.

"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.
• If your contract converted on 1 December 2022 from a tenancy that existed before then, you can ask the Rent Assessment Committee (Residential Property Tribunal Wales) to decide the rent.
• 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.
• The checker cannot confirm any other way to challenge a rent increase in Wales. If you are not sure whether your contract converted, ask Shelter Cymru or Citizens Advice.

"I want to leave"

• You can end a periodic contract by giving at least 4 weeks' notice. You cannot normally end a fixed-term standard contract early.

"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 (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. The checker cannot confirm the deadline for replying to court papers.
• The checker cannot work out the exact date a notice ends. Check it with an adviser.

Money figures

This guide contains no money figures. The checker cannot tell you the amount of any fee, fine, penalty, award or repayment.

Traps

• "Section 21" and "Section 8" are England words. Wales uses section 173 and breach notices.
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025 tenancy rules are England law only. They do not apply in Wales.
• 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.
• Employment tribunal time limits never apply to housing problems.