Council and housing association evictions
Written notice
Your council or housing association must give you a written warning notice that they plan to evict you. The notice is normally either at least 4 weeks or 4 months, depending on the type of tenancy you have.
However, they can start eviction proceedings immediately if you’re responsible for serious antisocial behaviour like drug-dealing.
For most types of tenancy, your council or housing association must also tell you why they’re planning to evict you.
The quicker you reply to the written notice, the better chance you have of keeping your home. If you ignore it and stay in the property, or the council or housing association is not satisfied with your response, they may apply to the court for permission to evict you.
Rent arrears
If you’re facing eviction over unpaid rent, before taking you to court the council or housing association must:
- try to talk to you about the arrears as early as possible
- give you detailed information about the arrears
- offer help, if you need it, to make a housing benefit claim
- agree to delay taking you to court if you make a reasonable offer to pay off your rent arrears
These steps are known as the ‘pre-action protocol’.