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 regulated, assured and assured shorthold tenants.
You could only be given a shorter notice in some limited cases. For example if your landlord wanted to evict you on the grounds of antisocial behaviour.
What if I receive a notice from my landlord after the 24 March 2022?
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 you have. 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. Check the rules below to find out more.
What if I received an eviction notice from my landlord before the 29 September 2020?
Different emergency rules applied at the start of the pandemic in 2020. The amount of notice you were entitled to depended on when you were given it:
- between 26 March 2020 and 23 July 2020 – you were entitled to 3 months notice
- between 24 July 2020 and 28 September 2020 – you were entitled to 6 months notice (unless your landlord gave you a ‘section 8’ notice on the grounds of anti-social behaviour in which case it was 3 months).
If you have received a notice you should stay in your home. Try to continue to pay your rent if you can. Use the extra time the emergency laws have given you to try and get on top of things and if you are struggling to pay your rent, see our advice.
If you receive any letters from the court take a look at our advice on court proceedings to find out what happens next.
If you are a lodger who lives with your landlord, the emergency rules do not apply.