If you are a private tenant, you will usually have a tenancy agreement called an ‘Assured Shorthold Tenancy’, a copy of which your landlord should provide you. These agreements normally have a ‘fixed term’ of 6 or 12 months.  Even if you do not have a written agreement, if you are renting a self-contained property or room(s) and your landlord is not resident in the same property you will normally have the same rights as someone with a written agreement. Please note, however, that if you have signed an assured shorthold tenancy, but originally moved in before 15th January 1989, you may have a different sort of tenancy, which gives you greater protection than you would otherwise have. Our Housing Options Officers can advise you further on this subject.

Your landlord can seek possession (i.e. ask you to leave) for a number of reasons, including rent arrears, deliberate neglect or disrepair of the property or other breach of your tenancy agreement. Your landlord may also just wish to have the property back for his or her own reasons.

Where you have an Assured Shorthold tenancy or similar rights, your landlord must serve you with a valid notice and then seek possession through the County Court. If your landlord is seeking possession for breach of tenancy they can serve notice on you at any time, but if they just want the property back, they must serve you with at least 2 months’ or 8 weeks’ notice which cannot expire until after the end of the fixed term of your tenancy.

If your landlord is resident in the same property as you, your rights will normally be quite limited. Your landlord will normally only have to give you ‘reasonable’ notice, and does not need a court order to evict you.

If you are served with notice by your landlord contact a Housing Options Officer immediately. We will check the notice is valid, and speak to your landlord to try and prevent you becoming homeless. We will  also try to help you secure alternative accommodation before you have to leave.

With effect from 1st October 2010, mortgage lenders will be required to write to the occupier of a property if they are seeking to re-possess it from the owner.  If you are a tenant and receive such a letter, you should contact the Court immediately to request a suspension of the possession or eviction.

There are other types of tenancy, such as older tenancies which give you more rights to remain in your home, licences, tied accommodation and agricultural tenancies. Our Housing Options Officers can advise you further if you have one of these.