Use this page to find out what to do if you've been asked to leave your home.
Asked to leave by a landlord
If you have been asked to leave in writing or even just verbally, check your rights and options before you leave home. How and when a landlord can tell a tenant to leave is determined by housing law and depends on the details of your situation.
If you are a tenant paying rent, then normally a landlord is required to provide at least two months’ notice in writing.
Always keep a copy of any correspondence you receive from a landlord or letting agent.
You can find out more about legal notice and notice periods on Shelter's website
You do not have to leave your tenancy when your notice comes to an end. Your rights to occupy do not cease until a landlord obtains and executes a bailiff’s warrant.
If you need more time to find somewhere else to live, you are not breaking the law if you stay in your home beyond the notice expiry date.
However, you will still need to pay any rent which is due.
If your accommodation is provided as part of your work, then your rights to housing may also be affected by employment law.
Bring a copy of your employment contract to any appointment you have with a Housing Options advisor, or if you are seeing a Citizen’s Advice Bureau advisor.
If you live in the same home as your landlord, notice periods can vary. Lodgers are 'excluded occupiers'. This means that your landlord can evict you without going to court.
Your landlord can evict you in two ways:
- after giving you notice, if you have a rolling agreement
- without notice if you’re at the end of a fixed-term agreement
Your landlord needs to give you notice to leave if you have a rolling agreement. For example, a week or a month's notice.
Your written agreement or contract might say how much notice they need to give you, and whether the notice needs to be in writing.
Asked to leave by your parents
If you have been asked to leave home by your parents and don't have anywhere else to live, please get in touch with us to talk about your situation. We will help you to plan ahead.
If you're 16 or 17 years old
How we can help
We can contact your parents to speak to them if you can't do this yourself. We can also provide a mediation service to help to resolve any difficulties between you and your parents.
If you have to leave, we will decide whether or not you are eligible for any emergency accommodation.
We can help you apply for supported accommodation, or help you plan where to move to.
Relationship breakdown
If you've been asked to leave your home following a relationship breakdown between you and your partner, you can contact us for advice using our online form.
For your own safety, any temporary housing we arrange is likely to be in a different location to where you are currently living. We can also help you to make more permanent arrangements.
If you are experiencing any abuse or violence from your partner, you can get help with problems related to domestic violence or abuse.