Eviction: converted periodic standard contracts

• If you had a periodic assured shorthold tenancy before 1 December 2022 you now have a converted periodic standard contract
• It can be difficult to work out the rules about notices for converted contracts. Read the information below and get help if you are unsure

If you are a converted periodic standard contract-holder your landlord doesn’t always need to provide a reason for evicting you, but they must follow the correct procedure and get a court order. If your landlord gives you a notice without needing to give you a reason, this is often called a ‘no fault’ or ‘section 173’ notice.

When your landlord might not be able to use a ‘no fault notice’

Your landlord probably won’t be able to use a ‘no fault’ notice to evict you if:

• you had an assured tenancy or assured agricultural occupancy before 1 December 2022
• your tenancy began between 15 January 1989 and 27 February 1997 and you didn’t receive a ‘notice of an assured shorthold tenancy’ before your tenancy began.

Standard occupation contracts with different eviction rules

There are other situations where different rules about eviction apply. For example, if you live in your home as part of your job, your landlord may be able to give you less notice. Find out more here.  

If you moved into your home on or after 1 December 2022 the information on this page does not apply to you. Please visit our advice pages about eviction by a private landlord instead.

The 3 steps to eviction

Step 1: Notice

Your landlord must first give you written notice. The notice must specify how long before they can start court action. 

Step 2: Court action

Your landlord must apply to court to get a possession order to evict you. They can only do this after the date stated in the notice. 

Step 3: Baliff

If you have not left on the date the possession order says you should, the landlord must then arrange for a county court bailiff to evict you. You can only be evicted by bailiffs with an eviction warrant. If anyone tries to force you to leave your home without following this process, it is likely to be an illegal eviction.  

Grounds for eviction: ‘absolute grounds’

Your landlord may be able to end your converted periodic standard contract without having to prove to the court that it is reasonable to evict you by using ‘absolute grounds’ (sometimes referred as ‘mandatory grounds’). This means that if the landlord follows the correct procedure the court has to grant a possession order. These grounds are:

• ‘no fault’ eviction (known as a ‘section 173’ notice)
• serious rent arrears of 2 months or more (known as a ‘section 181’ notice). 

Restrictions on using the ‘no fault’ notice procedure

Your landlord cannot use a ‘no fault’ (section 173) notice to evict you if any of the following applies:

1. your landlord is not registered with Rent Smart Wales, or hasn’t obtained a licence or appointed a licensed agent. You can check the Rent Smart Wales public register to see if your landlord or agent is registered and licensed.

• your landlord has not protected your deposit with a tenancy deposit scheme or did not give you certain prescribed information within 30 days.
• your landlord or agent has charged a banned letting fee and has not repaid it to you, or has failed to give back a returnable holding fee
• you’ve not received a written contract by 31 May 2023 (if your landlord gives an eviction notice after this date). Your landlord can’t give you a ‘no fault’ notice until 6 months after providing the written contract 
• you’ve not been given a valid energy performance certificate (EPC)
• your landlord hasn’t provided working smoke and (where needed) carbon monoxide alarms in your home
• your landlord hasn’t provided a current electrical installation condition report (EICR)
• your landlord hasn’t provided a current gas safety report
• a previous possession claim was thrown out by the court less than 6 months ago as it was a retaliatory eviction. This means that the landlord was trying to evict you to avoid doing repairs or making the property fit to live in.

• it is less than 6 months since a ‘no fault’ section 173 notice was withdrawn by the landlord (unless the new notice was given within 28 days of the withdrawn notice).
• your landlord requires an HMO or selective license but doesn’t have one.

If you have received a ‘no fault’ notice and any of the above apply, then get help.

How much notice will I get?

‘No fault’ notice  

If your landlord is evicting you using the ‘no fault’ eviction procedure (section 173) you should get 6 months’ notice. 

Court action can only begin after the notice period has ended.

If the landlord doesn’t start court action within 2 months of the end of the notice period they can’t give you another ‘no fault’ notice for a further 6 months. 

If your landlord does not give you a written contract by 1 June 2023 they can’t give you a ‘no fault’ section 173 notice until 6 months after they provide the written contract

Serious rent arrears

If you have been given notice because of serious rent arrears your landlord can begin court action after 2 weeks’ notice.

After giving you notice your landlord has 6 months to begin court action

How the court makes a decision

‘No fault’ (section 173) eviction

You may not be given a hearing if the landlord is using the ‘no fault’ eviction procedure. However, the court papers you receive should give you the opportunity to say if you don’t think the landlord has followed the correct procedure. Depending on the circumstances, the court may then decide a hearing is appropriate. 

If your landlord is using the ‘no fault’ eviction procedure, then the court must grant a possession order to the landlord providing they have followed the procedure correctly.

If your landlord has given you a section 173 notice and you think they are evicting you rather than carrying out repairs or ensuring your home is fit to live in, then you should inform the court in your defence form. The court may decide it is not reasonable to allow your landlord to evict you. This is known as retaliatory eviction. You will probably get a hearing if this is the case.

Your landlord can’t give you a ‘no fault’ section 173 notice under a break clause for 6 months following the court’s decision to dismiss a retaliatory eviction.

 Serious rent arrears

If your landlord applies to court, the papers you receive from the court should give you the opportunity to say if you don’t think the landlord has followed the correct notice procedure. You can also notify the court if you think there has been a mistake in calculating rent arrears or if there are issues with claiming housing benefit or universal credit.   

If your landlord is evicting you for serious rent arrears, the court has to grant a possession order if you are in 2 months arrears on the day you were given notice and on the day of the hearing. If you are not in serious rent arrears on one of these days the court may decide not to evict you.

 For information about the different decisions the court can make, see here.

Grounds for eviction: ‘discretionary grounds’

In some circumstances your landlord might choose to evict you using specific reasons. These reasons are known as ‘discretionary’ grounds. There are 2 types of discretionary grounds:   

Breach of contract

If you have broken any terms of your contract, your landlord might be able to evict you. Breaches of contract could include:

• rent arrears (you may be able to get debt advice from the ‘Breathing space’ scheme)
• subletting part or all of the property without permission
• behaving antisocially

Estate management grounds

Examples of estate management grounds include:

• if the landlord is carrying out building or redevelopment work
• if the property is specially adapted and is needed to house someone with needs suited to the property

How much notice will I get?

If your landlord is evicting you for breach of contract or estate management grounds, you will usually get 1 months’ notice before your landlord can start court action. 

However, if the landlord is evicting you for antisocial behaviour they can begin court action as soon as they have given you notice.

If your landlord is evicting you because you have inherited the contract and the home is larger than you need, then they cannot serve notice until 6 months after they found out about the death of the contract-holder. Once 12 months have passed they cannot give notice using this ground.

If your landlord is evicting you because a joint contract-holder has left the contract and the home is larger than you need, they must serve notice within 6 months of the joint contract-holder leaving the contract.

After giving you notice your landlord has 6 months to begin court action.

Always get help if you receive a notice. An adviser can check if the notice is correct and may be able to help you keep your home.

How the court makes a decision

Discretionary grounds

If your landlord is evicting you using a ‘ground’, the court can only decide to evict you if the landlord proves the ground and it is reasonable to evict you. If the ground is an estate management ground, then the landlord must also show the court that they are making suitable alternative accommodation available for you. For information about the different decisions the court can make, see here.

Get help if you are facing eviction

Get help now if you’re facing eviction. An adviser can check if the notice is correct and may be able to help you negotiate with your landlord or represent you in court. Have the papers you received from the court or your landlord with you when you speak to an adviser.

If you are at risk of losing your home you should contact your local council to make a homelessness application.