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When everyone has a home

Housing advice for Northern Ireland

Protected tenancies

Finding out if a tenancy is protected

There are a list of criteria that a tenancy must satisfy in order to be protected. The first of these is that the tenancy must have existed before 1 April 2007. No new protected tenancies can be created after this date, but the Rent Officer may still declare that tenancies which were in place before April 2007 are protected by law.

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Rent restrictions & rent control

The Rent Officer, rather than individual landlords, sets all rents for protected tenancies. If a landlord wishes to increase the amount of rent which can be legally charged on this type of tenancy, s/he must request a Rent Determination from the Rent Officer.

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Rights and repairs in protected tenancies

While protected tenants have many of the same rights as other private tenants, they also have a number of additional rights. These are a right to succession and greater protection from eviction.

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Regaining possession of a protected tenancy

Protected tenants have greater protection from eviction than other tenants. You can only evict them if you can show that the grounds for eviction set out in law apply. 

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Protected tenancy

Protected tenancies are a type of rent-controlled tenancy. You could be a protected tenant and not be aware of this fact. If you are a protected tenant, the amount of rent that your landlord can legally charge you is restricted.

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Finding out whether a tenancy is protected

You may be a protected tenant if you have been living in the same property since before 1 April 2007 and the property you are living in is, or was on 1 April 2007, in a poor state of repair. If you're not sure whether you're a protected tenant or not, there are a number of ways to find out.

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Rent control in private tenancies

The Rent Officer for Northern Ireland is responsible for setting rents on rent controlled and protected tenancies. If your landlord is charging more than the Rent Officer has allowed, you could be entitled to have this money back.

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Rights and repairs in protected tenancies

Protected tenants have greater rights to stay on in a property than other tenants. You may be entitled to stay in the property for the rest of your life. Responsibility for repairs in protected tenancies may depend on whether you have a tenancy agreement or not.

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Being evicted from a protected tenancy

Your landlord must be very careful when trying to evict your from a protected tenancy. Unless the landlord can prove that certain criteria apply to your tenancy, any eviction could be illegal.

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Property is repossessed

Your landlord may have a mortgage or secured loan on the property you are living in. If the landlord falls into arrears on these loans, your home could be at risk. You may have limited rights to stay in the property on a short term basis, but it is unlikely you will be able to stay there long term.

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