Giving and extending a prohibited conduct standard contract

  • A prohibited conduct standard contract is a 12-month probationary contract granted by a court. 
  • It is easier for your landlord to evict you under a prohibited conduct contract. 
  • Community landlords can apply to court to give you a prohibited conduct standard contract if you have engaged in anti-social behaviour.  

If you moved into your home before 1 December 2022 the information below does not apply to you. Please visit our converted contracts advice section. 

This page explains what a community landlord has to do to give you prohibited conduct standard occupation contract with a community landlord. It covers how you must be informed and your right to ask for a review.  

It does not explain your rights and the responsibilities you and your landlord have under a prohibited conduct standard contract. For information about this, click here. 

Do I have a prohibited conduct standard contract? 

A prohibited conduct standard contract can be given to you if you breach a secure occupation contract by engaging in antisocial behaviour. Anti-social behaviour means using your home for criminal activity or behaving in a way that might cause nuisance or annoyance to people in or near your home. This includes people living with or near you and also landlord staff and contractors. It is a fundamental term of all occupation contracts that you must not engage in or threaten to engage in anti-social behaviour. 

What does my landlord have to do? 

To give you a prohibited conduct standard contract, your landlord must get a court order. If the court agrees to your landlord’s application to give you a prohibited conduct standard contract, you will receive a letter from the court confirming this. You should also receive a written contract.  

Your landlord must give you written notice before they apply to the court. It should look something like this. The notice must include the reasons they are applying for an order.  

After giving notice, your landlord can begin court action immediately. The notice is only valid for 6 months so your landlord must begin court action within this time.  

Your landlord can also apply for a possession order to evict you at the same time. You should receive letters from the court explaining what actions you should take and informing you of a date for the hearing.  

How will the court decide? 

The court can only make an order allowing your landlord to change your contract to a prohibited conduct standard contract if:  

  • you, someone who lives with you, or a visitor, has behaved antisocially or used your home for criminal activity,
  • they would otherwise grant a possession order to your landlord, and
  • your landlord will offer you support to help stop the behaviour happening again. 

Applying to end the probation period early 

You can apply to the court for an order to end the probation period early if: 

  • at least 6 months has passed, and 
  • it is no longer necessary to have a prohibited conduct standard contract, or   
  • your landlord has not offered you any support to help stop the behaviour. 

Get help if you want to do this. 

When will I become a secure contract-holder again? 

If there are no problems during the probation period your contract will become a new secure contract when the period ends. You should receive a new written contract when the probation ends. Prohibited standard occupation contracts last for 12 months unless:  

  • your landlord decides to extend the probationary period for a further 6 months, or  
  • it ends earlier than 12 months because the landlord gave you a ‘no fault’ section 173 notice but did not apply to court within 2 months of the notice expiring 

If your landlord starts action to evict you get help.  

How can my landlord extend the probationary period? 

Your landlord can extend the probationary period for a further 6 months by giving you a notice, which must: 

  • be given to you at least 8 weeks before the end of the probationary period 
  • give you reasons why the landlord wants to extend the probationary period 
  • tell you that you have a right to request a review of your landlord’s decision.  

If you do not agree that your probationary period should be extended, you can ask the landlord to look at the decision again. This is called ‘asking for a review‘. You must ask for a review in writing within 14 days of receiving the notice. For more information on what happens in a review see our page on challenging community landlord decisions. 

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Yn anffodus, ni allwn ddarparu'r wybodaeth hon yn Gymraeg. Mae cyfieithiad Cymraeg ar gael trwy'r ddolen Cymorth Clyweledol ar frig y dudalen. Fodd bynnag, ni fydd y cyfieithiad yn gwbl gywir bob amser gan ei fod yn cael ei gynhyrchu'n awtomatig
Unfortunately, we cannot provide this information in Welsh. There is a Welsh translation available via the Audio Visual Help link at the top of the page. However, these will not always be completely accurate as they are automatically generated.

This page was last updated on: November 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.