If you're being evicted as a lodger

This advice applies to England. See advice for See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Scotland, See advice for Wales

You’re a lodger if you live with your landlord and you share ‘living space’ with them - for example a kitchen, living room or bathroom.

You’re also a lodger if you don’t share living space with your landlord, but you share other spaces like corridors or stairs - for example if you live in your landlord’s converted garage.

As a lodger, you’ll have an agreement with your landlord to rent space in their home. You might have a written ‘lodging agreement’ - or you might have agreed it verbally with your landlord.

As a lodger, you don’t have much protection against eviction but your landlord has to give you enough notice to move out. How much notice they need to give depends on your situation.

They might also need to get an order from the court to evict you.

If you’ve already moved out, there are other rules your landlord must follow if you paid a deposit or left any of your belongings behind.

If your landlord has died, you can check what should happen next.

If moving out will make you homeless

If you won’t have anywhere to live after you’ve been evicted, you might be able to get help.

You can apply to the council for somewhere to live if you're homeless now or you’II become homeless within 8 weeks. Check if you can apply for homeless help.

How much notice your landlord should give you

The amount of notice your landlord must give you to move out usually depends on:

  • whether you share ‘living space’ with your landlord

  • whether your landlord can enter your room without telling you first

Living space doesn’t include corridors, staircases, storage areas or entrances.

If you share living space with your landlord

Your landlord can give you notice to move out verbally, unless your agreement says it has to be in writing.

Your landlord doesn’t need a court order to evict you but they can get one if they choose to.

If you have an end date for your agreement

Your landlord can only evict you if any of the following apply:

  • the fixed-term you agreed has come to an end

  • your agreement includes a ‘break clause’ - this lets your landlord end it early but they still have to give you the notice set out in your agreement

  • the Home Office tells your landlord you don’t have the right to rent in the UK - they still have to give you at least 28 days’ notice to leave

  • your agreement says it can end early if you break certain terms - and you’ve broken the terms

If your landlord is making you move out because you’ve broken a term, they still have to give you the amount of notice set out in the agreement.

If you didn’t agree an end date with your landlord

Your landlord must give you ‘reasonable notice’ to move out. Sometimes reasonable notice could be a few days, but is more likely to be a few weeks.

What’s reasonable depends on things like:

  • how long you’ve lived there

  • how often you have to pay rent - for example if you have to pay rent monthly, a month’s notice might be reasonable

  • your behaviour - for example if you’ve damaged the property or been aggressive you’re likely to get less notice

If your agreement with your landlord includes a notice period but you think it’s unreasonable, you should ask them to give you a reasonable amount of notice instead.

Example

Bushra is living with her friend’s parents. She shares the living room, kitchen and bathroom with them. Every 2 weeks they wash her bed sheets and clean her room.

Bushra has an agreement that runs from month to month.

The agreement says her friend’s parents must give her 2 months’ notice if they want her to move out. This means 2 months is the correct notice period.

If Bushra didn’t have an agreed notice period, she would be given reasonable notice to leave instead.

If you agreed with your landlord that they have to tell you in advance if they need to enter your room, the rules are different.

Your notice period should be the same as your rent period. For example if you pay rent monthly, your landlord has to give you at least a month’s notice.

If they don’t give you the correct amount of notice, it isn’t valid and you don’t have to leave.

If you only share space like corridors or stairs with your landlord

Your landlord has to get an order from the court to evict you.

If you have an end date for your agreement

If you have a fixed-term agreement, your landlord can only evict you if any of the following apply:

  • the fixed term has come to an end

  • it includes a ‘break clause’ - this lets your landlord end the fixed term early but they still have to give you the notice set out in your agreement

  • the Home Office tells your landlord you don’t have the right to rent in the UK - they still have to give you at least 28 days’ notice to leave

  • your agreement says it can end early if you break certain terms - and you’ve broken the terms

If your landlord is making you move out because you’ve broken a term, they still have to give you the amount of notice set out in the agreement.

Your landlord also has to get an order from the court to evict you.

If you didn’t agree an end date with your landlord

Your landlord must give you at least 28 days’ notice in writing if they want you to move out. If they don’t, the notice isn’t valid and you don’t have to leave.

If your rent period is longer than 28 days, you’ll get more notice - for example if your rent is due monthly, you’ll get 1 month’s notice instead.

If you agreed on a notice period that’s longer than 28 days, your landlord must give you the notice you agreed on.

If you don’t think your landlord is allowed to evict you

If your landlord hasn’t followed the rules, you should talk to them. You can tell them they’re acting unlawfully if they:

  • didn’t give you enough notice

  • didn’t get a court order when they needed one - for example if you only share spaces like corridors or stairs

If talking to your landlord doesn’t work, it’s usually best to find somewhere else to live as soon as you can.

Important

If you’re in danger because of your landlord

Call 999 to report them to the police.

If you don’t feel safe because of your landlord but it’s not an emergency, call 101.

If you won’t have anywhere to live after you’ve been evicted, you might be able to get help. Check if you can apply for homeless help.

It’s possible to challenge the eviction in court but you need to decide if it’s worth doing because:

  • the court will usually only let you stay in the property for a maximum of a few more weeks

  • you might have to pay the court costs

  • it’s likely to create a stressful environment where you live

You’ll still have to pay rent while you challenge your eviction.

Talk to an adviser if you want to challenge your eviction.

If you refuse to move out

If your landlord has followed the rules to evict you, you usually have no legal right to be in the property anymore.

If you share living space with your landlord

Your landlord can take action to make you move out, as long as they don’t threaten or harass you. For example, they might change the locks while you’re out.

If you refuse to leave after the notice period has ended, your landlord can get a court order to evict you. It’s best to leave when the notice period ends, otherwise you’ll usually have to pay the court costs yourself.

You’ll have no legal right to stay if:

  • they’ve given you the right notice

  • they have a court order to evict you

If you refuse to leave after the date in the court order, your landlord can ask the court to get a bailiff to evict you. It's best to leave before the date in the court order, otherwise you'll usually have to pay the court costs yourself.

If you left any of your belongings behind when you moved out

Your landlord should tell you when you can collect your belongings. If they don’t, you should tell them when you’re available and try to agree on a day and time you can collect them.

Your landlord must keep your belongings safe for a reasonable amount of time. What’s reasonable depends on the situation - for example if you’re unwell and can’t travel they should give you more time.

If you owe your landlord rent, they’re not allowed to keep your belongings to recover the money you owe.

If you’re not able to collect your belongings, you should tell your landlord. If they think you’re never coming back they might throw away or sell your things.

If you paid a deposit

If your landlord hasn’t returned your deposit when you leave, you should ask them to give it back to you.

If your landlord doesn’t give it back, what you need to do depends on whether your landlord protected your deposit in a deposit protection scheme.

Your landlord doesn’t have to protect your deposit. They can protect it if they choose to but this isn’t common.

If your deposit isn’t protected

Your landlord might keep some of your deposit if they need to repair something you damaged - they should tell you what’s damaged. You might be able to negotiate with your landlord to agree how much of your deposit they should keep for the repairs.

If your landlord is trying to keep some or all of your deposit and you don’t agree, you might have to take your landlord to the small claims court to get your money back.

If you take your landlord to the small claims court, you'll usually have to pay some court costs but you should get them back if you win your case.

If you lose, you might have to pay your landlord's costs - this could be for things like travel expenses and court fees.

Talk to an adviser if you need help taking your landlord to court to get your deposit back.

If your deposit is protected

Your landlord should have told you what scheme they used - Deposit Protection Service, My Deposits or Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

You can use your scheme's 'alternative dispute resolution' (ADR) service to help you get your deposit back. It's free and easy to make a claim.

You'll usually have to make your claim to the ADR service within 3 months of moving out of the property. If your landlord refuses to use the ADR service you can take them to court instead.

If you agree about part of your deposit, you should get back the money you agree on quickly. You'll usually get your money back in 10 days - it depends on your situation and what scheme your deposit is in.

After the ADR service gets evidence from both you and your landlord, they’ll send you a final decision within 6 weeks by email or letter. They’ll explain how you'll get any money back that's owed to you.

You and your landlord will have to accept whatever the ADR service decides - you won't be able to challenge it.

Check your scheme's website to find out how to use their ADR service. You can check:

Applying to the ADR service

You'll need to fill in a form to explain why you think you should get your deposit back. You should give any evidence you have, for example:

  • photos showing the condition of the property when you moved out

  • a receipt if you paid for the property to be cleaned professionally

  • letters or emails about problems you reported to your landlord that should have been fixed, for example a leaky toilet that caused further damage

If you’re not sure whether some evidence is helpful, it’s best to send it anyway.

The ADR service will also ask your landlord for their evidence.

If your landlord refuses to use the ADR service

You'll need to take your landlord to the small claims court to get your money back.

You'll usually have to pay some court costs to go to small claims court - you should get the costs back if you win your case. If you lose, you might have to pay your landlord's costs - this could be for things like travel expenses and court fees.

Talk to an adviser if you want help taking your landlord to court to get your deposit back.

If your landlord has died

If your landlord dies, the property will usually be passed to surviving relatives or friends.

The person who inherits the property will become your new landlord.

If your new landlord moves in, you’ll continue to be a lodger with the same rights you had before.

If your new landlord doesn’t move in, your rights might change. Talk to an adviser to find out what rights you’ll have.

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Page last reviewed on 09 January 2024