Renting is changing in Wales on July 15th: Find out more here
× Housing advice for under-25s

Eviction by a private landlord

Private landlords must follow legal procedures to evict tenants. They sometimes need a legal reason (known as a ‘ground’) to evict you but in many cases they don’t.

How and when your landlord can evict you depends on the type of tenancy you have. The rules for the more common types of tenancy are explained below.

If you are an assured shorthold tenant and are being evicted, you could also take a look at our short video on the right hand side of this page.

Whatever type of tenancy you have, and whatever stage an eviction is at, it’s always worth getting advice. You might be able to stop or delay the eviction.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

Emergency laws were introduced in Wales to deal with evictions during the pandemic.

Between 29 September 2020 and 24 March 2022, most tenants in Wales were entitled to 6 months’ notice before their landlord could start court action to evict them. This included assured shorthold tenants.

The emergency laws ended on the 24 March 2022. This means, if you receive a notice after the 24 March 2022, the amount of notice you are entitled to depends on the type of tenancy and the reason why your landlord wants you to leave. For example, if you have an assured shorthold tenancy and your landlord is serving a ‘section 21’ (or ‘no fault’) notice, the notice will need to be 2 months in length.

What if my landlord has already started court proceedings to evict me?

If you have received possession papers or a notice of eviction from the county court use our guide to find out what will happen next:

Step-by-step guide to possession proceedings during Covid19

Some new stages in the possession process were introduced during the coronavirus pandemic. These included:

Reactivation Notices: if your landlord started court proceedings before 3 August 2020 the case was probably put on hold for a time. If your landlord wanted to re-start the case they had to send a Reactivation Notice to you and the court, giving information about the impact coronavirus had on you and your family. After the 1 December 2021 there will no longer be a need for a Reactivation Notice.

Review Date: up until 1 November 2021 the court had to set a Review Date 4 weeks before a possession hearing, so that the judge could review the papers and see if an agreement could be reached before a court hearing took place. Review Dates are no longer required but some courts might decide to continue with them. If you receive notice of a Review Date speak to an adviser as soon as you can. You might be able to get legal help on the day.

Bailiff eviction: bailiffs in Wales were banned from carrying out evictions during the pandemic. This ban ended on the 30 June 2021. From that date bailiffs have been able to carry out evictions regardless of the reason for eviction.

Always get advice if possession proceedings have started against you. It might not be too late to stop or delay any eviction.

The 3 steps to eviction

To lawfully evict a tenant, your landlord must follow 3 steps. Find out more about each step below.

1. Notice

The first step your landlord has to take is to formally ask you to leave by giving you notice. Most tenants are entitled to a written notice. Where a notice is required it must:

  • be of a specific length of time
  • state the date that your landlord wants you to leave
  • in some cases, give reasons why you are being asked to leave
  • in some cases, give certain information such as where you can get advice.

For most types of tenants there are rules about how long your landlord has to give you before you have to leave and when the notice can be given.

In some cases landlords do not have to give written notice before you have to leave. This normally only applies to people who share accommodation with their landlord or who are living in their accommodation on a very temporary basis.

2. Possession order

If you haven’t left by the time the notice ends, landlords usually have to apply for an order from the county court telling you to leave. This is known as a possession order. Most tenants are entitled to stay in their accommodation until the date given in a possession order.

Sometimes landlords are able to get a possession order automatically but other times they need to prove a reason to the court. There may be a court hearing.

Find out more about court action for eviction here.

3. Bailiff

If you haven’t left by the date in any possession order your landlord can arrange for a bailiff to evict you.

You will receive a letter from the court saying when the bailiffs will arrive. This is called a Notice of Eviction. County court bailiffs can physically remove you and your belongings from the property but must not use violence or unreasonable force in doing so.

It is sometimes possible to apply to the court to stop the bailiffs from evicting you. Get specialist advice immediately if you want to do this.

Nobody other than a bailiff acting for the county court is allowed to physically remove you from the accommodation. If anyone else attempts to do this they are probably guilty of illegal eviction, which is a serious offence. Contact Shelter Cymru for advice if this happens to you.

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

Phone an adviser

If you have a housing problem, call our expert housing advice helpline

Email an adviser

If you have a non-urgent problem and would like to speak to an adviser
email us

Eviction of assured shorthold tenants

Most private tenants are assured shorthold tenants. They can be evicted by a landlord following the correct process, sometimes without the landlord having to give any reason.

Eviction of assured tenants

Most assured tenants can only be evicted in certain circumstances. Find out the procedures that must be followed here.

Eviction of regulated tenants

This section explains when landlords have the right to evict regulated tenants and the procedures that must be followed.

Occupiers with basic protection

This section explains when landlords have the right to evict occupiers with basic protection and the procedures that must be followed.

Excluded occupiers

If you are an excluded occupier your landlord can evict you without having to go to court.

Did you find this helpful?

This page was last updated on: March 30, 2022

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.

Accessibility by WAH