Tenants guide

Contents

• Overview
• Fees and upfront costs 
• Help with your rent 
• Tenant responsibilities 
• Landlord responsibilities 
• Difficulties with your landlord
• Rent arrears 
• Housing standards
  
• Ending your tenancy 
• Eviction

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Eviction

Eviction is a legal process that can take a few months. You will always get notice and sometimes you can stop an eviction.

Your landlord may decide to start eviction proceedings by serving a written section 21 notice. The current legal notice must be given on a Form 6a. 

Notice periods

The minimum notice period, when relying on a section 21 notice, is 2 months and the landlord does not have to give a reason.

Possession cannot be given before a fixed term ends when relying on this course of action.

Broken terms of the tenancy 

If a landlord can evidence that the tenant has broken the terms of the tenancy which may be for non payment or regular late payment of rent, they can apply for eviction under Section 8 of the Housing Act.

This requires a much shorter notice period and can be used at any time.  

Check your rights on the Shelter (Housing Charity) website.

Unlawful eviction

Landlords and letting agents must follow the correct procedures to evict tenants.

• It’s an illegal eviction if your landlord or anyone acting on their behalf forces you to leave by threatening or harassing you
• kicks you out or uses physical force to make you leave
• stops you from getting into parts of your home
• changes the locks while you're out

If you feel that your landlord is trying to evict you without following the lawful procedure you should contact the Housing Options team. We can help you understand why problems have arisen in the tenancy and try to find ways to resolve them.

To gain possession of a property a Landlord must:

• Give the proper legal written notice
• Get a court order for possession, and
• Get a bailiff’s warrant for possession.

If the tenant/licensee and landlord share living accommodation, the landlord does not have to get a court order to evict the tenant/licensee but must give the correct written notice.

Refer to the unlawful eviction and harassment policy for private rented sector housing (PDF, 275KB) for further information. 

Harassment

Harassment is defined in the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 as:

• Acts likely to interfere with the peace and comfort of those living in the property, or
• Persistent withdrawal of services that are reasonably required for the occupation of the property.

A landlord, or agent of, may commit harassment through the following conduct;

• Making threats to persuade a tenant to leave.
• Cutting off services such as gas, electricity, or water.
• Entering a tenant’s room without permission.
• Not carrying out or completing essential repairs, demand to carry out excessive repairs. 
• Anti-social conduct by the landlord/agent.
• Physical violence.
• Verbal abuse.
• Withholding keys.
• Changing locks.
• Removing belongings.
• Visiting at unsociable hours.
• Constant telephone calls or text messages.

Cheshire East Council is committed to ensuring high standards of private rented accommodation is provided in the borough and is ultimately responsible for ensuring that any case of unlawful eviction and/or harassment is investigated, and where appropriate, any necessary action is taken, including prosecution. 

Retaliatory or revenge eviction

Retaliatory, or revenge, eviction is when a private landlord evicts a tenant who asks for repairs or complains about bad housing conditions.

Your landlord cannot give you a Section 21 notice to evict you for 6 months if we have given them an improvement notice or an emergency remedial action notice.

If you got a section 21 before the council's notice

Your landlord cannot use the section 21 notice to evict you as long as all these things have happened:

1. you complained to your landlord about your housing conditions before the section 21
2. your landlord did not properly deal with your complaint within 14 days
3. you then contacted our Housing Standards Team about the problem
4. we served your landlord was an improvement or emergency works notice

When a section 21 could still be valid

Your landlord could still give you a valid section 21 if:

• we decide not to take action or informal action
• we suspend or withdraw any orders we serve
• we only give your landlord a hazard awareness notice
• we give a notice because of damage you caused

Your landlord can also use a section 21 if the property is on the market or your landlord's mortgage lender can give a section 21 if the property has been repossessed or a receiver has been appointed.

Even if the notice is valid, the full eviction process takes a few months.

Contact the Housing Options team

If you think you have been served a notice in retaliation following a complaint you have made about property condition contact our Housing Options Team on: 0300 123 5017 and ask to speak with our Private Sector Liaison Officer.