Under what conditions can a landlord evict his tenant?
This answer concerns only Assured Shorthold Tenancy rentals (the most common in England).
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There is no winter break in the UK. In the situation where the landlord is legally entitled to evict his tenant, he can do so at any time of the year.
In England a landlord can decide to end a rental contract before the end date stated in the contract. For this, he must follow one of the 2 legal procedures:
Section 21 eviction process
- The owner does not need to provide a reason - he must however follow certain rules for it to be recognized as valid by the courts
- The tenant can contest the validity of the eviction procedure in court.
What is the "Section 21 eviction process"?
This procedure is most commonly used by homeowners.
This procedure imposes a notice of at least 2 months and can - if this ends in court - take up to 8 months.
Section 8 eviction process
- The landlord must provide legally valid reasons (arrears of rent, non-compliance with one or more clauses of the rental agreement, etc.) to terminate the rental agreement.
- The tenant can contest the validity of the eviction procedure in court.
What is the "Section 8 eviction process"?
These 2 procedures involve recourse to a court. Only the courts can legally evict a tenant from his home.
A landlord cannot in any case evict a tenant by force. They must take legal action in order to legally deport him. Otherwise, they would be guilty of illegal eviction, recognized as an offense in England (criminal offense).
The tenant and the owner keep the same rights and obligations during this eviction procedure.