Eviction from social housing

Most people living in social housing have a secure or assured tenancy.

This means you can only be evicted from your home if your housing provider has a legal reason.

The most common of these is falling behind with your rent. Other reasons include:

• antisocial behaviour
• subletting without permission
• damaging the property
• not maintaining the property as agreed

Check what type of tenancy you have.

If your housing provider wants to evict you because you’ve fallen behind with your rent, you have a good chance of being allowed to stay if you act quickly to put things right.

Good communication is key here. Create a budget to work out how much you can afford to pay on top of your usual rent to catch up. Then approach your housing provider and try to agree a repayment plan.

If you have an introductory tenancy with the council or a starter tenancy with a housing association, it might be easier for your housing provider to evict you.

In these cases, you can be given a section 21 notice. This is also known as a no-fault eviction because landlords don’t need a reason to send one. This type of eviction is due to be banned by summer 2025.

Get advice from Shelter if you have an introductory or starter tenancy and your housing provider is trying to evict you.

If your local authority or housing association want to evict you, they must follow certain steps.

Notice

The first step is formal notice from your landlord called a 'notice seeking possession'.

This states their intention to start court proceedings to end your tenancy and outlines the reasons for eviction. It’ll also have the date by which you must leave the property.

In most cases, you must be given at least:

• four weeks' notice for a secure tenancy
• two weeks' notice for an assured tenancy

You might get less notice in some cases e.g. if you’re being evicted for antisocial behaviour.

If a housing association is evicting you due to circumstances beyond your control, e.g. redevelopment or demolition, you’ll get at least two months’ notice.

Check how much notice you should get.

When you get the notice, there’s still time to contact your housing provider to discuss whether there’s anything you can do to stay in your home. Options might include agreeing:

• a repayment plan for any rent arrears
• to attend mediation if there have been complaints from neighbours

Your housing provider starts court action

You do not have to leave your home by the date given in the notice. If you stay past this date, your housing provider can ask the court to end your tenancy and evict you.

They must apply to court within 12 months of the date on the notice. After this time, the notice is no longer valid.

When your housing provider starts court action, you’ll get a copy of their application in a claim form (N5) and a form explaining why they want to evict you (N119). You will also get a defence form (N11R) to complete and return within 14 days if you want to challenge the eviction.

Get legal advice to help complete the defence form and put forward your case. Even if you don't return the form, you can still attend the hearing and put your case to the judge.

Court hearing

If you don't leave by the date on the notice, your housing provider must apply to the court for a possession order. You'll receive a court summons and get the opportunity to defend your case.

The court will send you details of the possession hearing, including the date, time and location (usually your local county court). This is when a judge will consider the case and decide if you should be evicted.

It's very important to attend the hearing, even if you didn't return your defence form. You'll be able to explain your situation, and a duty adviser at the court may be able to provide free legal help on the day.

The judge can decide to:

• dismiss the case if your landlord doesn't prove a legal reason to evict
• make a possession order telling you to leave your home
• make a suspended possession order, meaning you can stay in your home, provided you stick to a repayment plan for your arrears and keep up with your ongoing rent.

Eviction

If the court makes a possession order and you stay past the date it says you must leave, your landlord can apply for bailiffs to carry out the eviction.

The bailiffs must give you at least two weeks' notice before evicting you. In some cases, you may be able to ask the court to stop or delay the bailiff warrant. Get urgent legal advice if you’re facing bailiff action.

You have the right to defend yourself against eviction.

Some possible defences include:

• proving that your landlord hasn't followed the correct legal procedure
• showing that the reasons for eviction are invalid or discriminatory
• demonstrating that you've taken steps to address the issues, such as paying off rent arrears or addressing antisocial behaviour

Get free legal advice as soon as possible if you want to defend yourself against eviction.

There are various sources of support available:

• Shelter provide expert housing advice, support and legal services to those facing eviction or homelessness.
• Your council’s housing department can provide advice and assistance, particularly if you're at risk of homelessness due to eviction (even if you’re being evicted by the council).