Landlords usually have to follow specific legal procedures before you can be evicted. Whether your landlord can evict you and how depends on the type of tenancy you have.

Your landlord may need a legal reason to evict you if you have a protected tenancy. If your landlord doesn't follow the correct legal procedure, s/he could be carrying out an illegal eviction. This is a criminal offence.

• I have a private tenancy
• I have a protected tenancy
• I am a licensee
• I am a Housing Executive tenant
• I am a housing association tenant

I have a private tenancy

You can be evicted quite easily if you have a private tenancy and you have broken the terms of your tenancy agreement. Your landlord will usually have to give you 28 days' notice and get a court order before you have to leave the property. If your landlord is trying to evict you, your rights depend on the duration term of the tenancy.

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I have a protected tenancy

You have more protection from eviction if you are a protected tenant. Your landlord will usually only be able to evict you if s/he has a legal reason for evicting you.

However, your landlord may also be able to evict you if s/he can prove that it is reasonable to evict you. Your landlord must give you at least 28 days' notice and get a court order before you must leave the accommodation.

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I am a licensee

Your landlord doesn't need to give you 28 days' notice to quit or get a court order before evicting you. Your landlord only has to give you a reasonable time to leave the property. This can be as little as a couple of hours.

Get specialist advice if your landlord is trying to evict you. You may have more rights than you think.

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I am a Housing Executive tenant

The Housing Executive will usually only start eviction proceedings as a last resort. The Housing Executive can only evict you if you break your tenancy agreement. The Housing Executive must go to court to end your tenancy.

The Housing Executive won't automatically get possession. The court will look at your personal circumstances before deciding if it is reasonable to evict you. The court can't look at your personal circumstances is if the Housing Executive is trying to end your introductory tenancy.

The Housing Executive can terminate your introductory tenancy if you abandon the property where you hold the tenancy. If the Housing Executive believes you have permanently vacated a property, the Housing Executive is entitled to take possession of the property. The Housing Executive considers this behaviour as abandonment of a property.  

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I am a housing association tenant

Your housing association will usually only start eviction proceedings as a last resort. A housing association can only evict you if you break your tenancy agreement. The housing association must go to court to end your tenancy.

The housing association won't automatically get possession. The court will look at your personal circumstances before deciding if it is reasonable to evict you. The only time that the court can't look at your personal circumstances is if the housing association is trying to end your introductory tenancy.

What is an illegal eviction?

Most private tenants can only be evicted if their landlord gets a possession order from the court. If your landlord has evicted you without following the correct procedure this may be illegal. Illegal eviction is a serious civil and criminal offence.

You might be illegally evicted if:

• your landlord doesn't give you 28 days' notice to quit,
• your landlord changes the locks while you are out or stops you from getting into your home,
• your landlord makes life so uncomfortable for you that you are forced to leave your home,
• you are physically removed from the property by a person who is not employed by the Enforcement of Judgements Office