Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Many people are worried about Coronavirus (COVID-19) and how this could affect their housing. Click here to find out what COVID-19 means for you.

Court orders

If you haven’t left by the time any notice expires, your housing association will usually have to apply for an order from the county court telling you to leave. This is known as a possession order.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

All court proceedings for eviction are on hold until the 23 August 2020.

  • If your landlord has already applied to the court then your case will be put off until after the 23 August 2020
  • If your landlord wants to continue the case to evict you after the 23 August 2020 they will need to send a notice to you and to the court. They must give information in the notice about the impact coronavirus has had on you and your family
  • You will be contacted by the court if this happens and you will be told if there is to be a court hearing. The hearing might be dealt with by video or audio link
  • You should still pay your rent while you are waiting for a court hearing.

See Gov.Wales for the current Welsh Government advice.

See Public Health Wales for up to date health advice.

What do I do if I receive court papers?

If you receive papers from the court telling you that the housing association has applied for a possession order, it is important that you get advice straight away.

The sooner you get advice, the more likely you are to keep your home.

Sometimes housing associations are able to get a possession order automatically, but other times they need to prove a reason (also known as a ‘ground‘) to the court.

Unless you are an assured shorthold tenant and your landlord is relying on a ‘section 21 – no fault’ notice, there will automatically be a court hearing.

Always try and go to the court hearing. If you have no adviser, some courts have a duty adviser or solicitors available on the day of the hearing who may be able to help you.

For more information about what to expect during the court process, click here.

What orders can the court make?

If you have an assured tenancy it is likely that the judge will make one of the following orders:

  • dismiss the claim
  • adjourn (postpone) the hearing (this might be on a condition, for example, that you regularly pay your rent and something towards the arrears)
  • make a suspended possession order
  • make an outright possession order
  • make a money judgment.

    For more information on each of these orders, see our page on What orders can be made?

If you have an assured shorthold (starter) tenancy or demoted tenancy, the court will not have so much choice about what order to make. It is important that you seek advice.

We are sorry that we cannot provide this information in Welsh, however if you would like to speak to an adviser in Welsh please contact 08000 495 495.

Other pages in eviction

Preventing eviction
Private tenants
Housing association tenants
Council tenants
Mobile homes
Court action
Harassment and illegal eviction

See all advice topics

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This page was last updated on: July 27, 2020

Shelter Cymru acknowledges the support of Shelter in allowing us to adapt their content. The information contained on this site is updated and maintained by Shelter Cymru and only gives general guidance on the law in Wales. It should not be regarded or relied upon as a complete or authoritative statement of the law.

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