Receiving a notice from your housing association is usually the start of the eviction process.

The type and length of the notice depends on what type of tenancy you have and the reason why the housing association wishes to evict you.

If you are an assured tenant with a housing association you can only be evicted in certain circumstances, such as breaking one of the terms or your tenancy, or falling into rent arrears.

Different rules apply if you are an assured shorthold (starter) tenant or demoted tenant.

If you have received a notice from your landlord get urgent advice from Shelter Cymru.

If you have an assured tenancy, the notice must be on a special form called a Notice of Seeking Possession and must:

• give the reasons (or ‘grounds‘) for evicting you
• be for a set length of time.

Your landlord must give either 2 months’ or 14 days’ notice depending on the reason you are being evicted :

• If the reason is because you have done something wrong (such as rent arrears) the notice will be at least 14 days
• If you have been guilty of causing a nuisance, or have been convicted of certain offences, the landlord may give you notice to leave immediately
• If you are being evicted for any other reason the notice must be at least two months.

In most cases, the notice will be valid for 12 months. If the housing association doesn’t start court action before the end of that period, it has to serve you with a new notice.

If the notice ends, or if the housing association isn’t happy with any response you have given to the notice, the next step it will need to take is to start court proceedings for a possession order.

If you are an assured tenant, you don’t have to leave your home until the landlord gets a possession order but, if you don’t move out and your landlord successfully takes you to court you might have to pay their court costs.

You will know if the housing association has started court proceedings because you’ll receive a letter from the court together with some court papers.  If you receive papers from the court and you haven’t contacted an adviser yet, make sure you do so immediately – it might not be too late to prevent eviction.

If you live in temporary accommodation, supported housing or a hostel, and are threatened with eviction, get advice immediately.

Advisers can check what type of agreement you have and explain your rights. Your landlord may not have to get a court order to evict you, or even give you a written notice. It’s very important to speak to an adviser as soon as you can.

If you receive support and care and your housing association gives you notice of eviction, the housing association is meant to offer advice and assistance and inform other agencies involved of the action being taken. You should take advantage of any help these agencies can provide, as your other options will be very limited.

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 0345 075 5005.