Eviction

You could lose your home if you don’t pay your rent. Your landlord, whether it’s the Housing Executive or a housing association will have to follow the proper procedure before this happens. Part of this procedure is to work with you to try to sort out the problem.

Housing Executive and housing association tenants should only be evicted as a last resort. Your landlord should work with you to try and resolve any problems and should only decide to go to court to evict you if all other attempts to sort out the problem have failed.

If you haven’t been a Housing Executive (NIHE) or housing association tenant for the last year, you’ll probably be an introductory tenant. After 12 months you’ll become a secure tenant and it will be more difficult to evict you.

A social landlord can end your tenancy if they think you are not living in the property. This is called "abandonment". 

The landlord does not have to go to court but they do have to follow the proper process. The process is only for social landlords. Private landlords must go to court to end your tenancy unless you have confirmed that you have moved out.