The law requires a landlord of a lodger to give 'reasonable'
notice. Unlike a tenancy, there is no period of notice that the
landlord must give that is stated in law.
In deciding what is 'reasonable' a landlord should consider how
a court may view the reasonableness of the notice given. Take the
following cases:
A lodger pays rent each month and has been living in the property
for 2 years. The landlord has decided that they want to have the
room back because they want to have a greater degree of privacy. A
lodger pays rent weekly and has been told several times about noise
late at night. They have lived in the property for 4 weeks.
In the first case, it is likely to be reasonable to give the
lodger at least a months notice, whereas in the second case, 1 or 2
weeks is likely to be viewed as sufficient.
In every case, it is advisable for the landlord to state in
writing the date on which the licence agreement will end and
the lodger should leave. It is not necessary to state the reasons
for wishing the lodger to leave but if the notice period is short
(less than a month for example) it may be in the landlord's best
interest to do so.
Quite understandably, many people will seek advice (either from
the Council, a solicitor or a voluntary agency such as The Citizens
Advice Bureau or Shelter) when they are asked to leave their
accommodation. An adviser who sees a written notice giving good
reasons why a lodger should leave is less likely to challenge a
short notice period.
A lodger can be evicted without a Court Order. Once the notice
period is complete, most lodgers will leave because they will be
advised that they have no legal grounds on which to ask a court to
allow them to stay. If the lodger refuses to leave, a resident
landlord who shares accommodation with them can remove their
possessions from the property and change the locks. However, it is
always advisable to apply for a court order to prevent allegations
of violence or threatened violence, which (in the context of
gaining access to property) are offences under the Criminal Law Act
1977.