Occupiers with basic protection
Occupiers with basic protection can be evicted more easily than other private tenants
Rights of occupiers with basic protection
Occupiers with basic protection have fewer rights than most other private tenants.
Your landlord:
doesn’t need to protect your deposit
can evict you without a reason
doesn’t have to give you notice at the end of a fixed term contract
Are you an occupier with basic protection?
You’ll be an occupier with basic protection if your situation means the law stops you having a tenancy type with more rights.
This includes if you:
are a student and live in university owned halls of residence
live in the same converted building as your landlord but in a separate flat
pay a high rent of £100,000 or more a year
Your renting agreement
Your landlord doesn't have to give you a written agreement, but some rules apply even if they aren’t written down.
For example:
what repairs your landlord needs to do
the rules they must follow to evict you
A written agreement could be:
fixed term - for example 6 or 12 months
periodic - rolling monthly or weekly
It should set out any extra responsibilities that you and your landlord have.
If you don’t have a written agreement you will normally have a rolling tenancy.
Tenancy deposits
Your landlord can ask you to pay a deposit. It doesn’t need to be protected in a deposit protection scheme.
At the end of your tenancy your landlord can deduct money from your deposit if you owe rent or if you’ve damaged the property.
You can apply to court if you don’t agree with your landlord keeping all or part of your deposit.
Rent and rent increases
You pay the rent that you agreed with your landlord.
Your landlord can only increase the rent if you either:
agree to a new rent
sign a new contract
have a rent review clause in your contract
Responsibility for repairs
Your landlord is responsible for most repairs including:
the roof and walls
external windows and doors
heating and plumbing
Tell your landlord or letting agent if your home needs repairs.
Your landlord must arrange for a gas safety inspection every year and give you a copy of the gas safety certificate.
If your landlord wants you to leave
Your landlord doesn’t need a reason to ask you to leave. However, they do need to follow the correct process.
Notice for fixed term agreements
At the end of the fixed term tenancy your landlord can apply to court straight away without giving you written notice.
They can only give you notice to leave before the end of the fixed term if there is a break clause in the agreement. The clause should say how much notice they need to give.
Notice for periodic agreements
If your landlord wants to end your periodic agreement, they need to give you at least 4 weeks’ notice, or a month if you pay rent monthly.
It needs to end on the last day of a period of your tenancy. This runs from when your periodic agreement began. For example, if your tenancy began on the 5th of the month, your landlords notice would need to end on the 4th.
The notice also needs to say that:
your landlord can only evict you by applying to court
you can get advice if you don’t know what your rights are
The new rules extending most notices to 6 months don't apply to occupiers with basic protection.
Eviction
If you don’t move out when the notice expires or your fixed term ends, your landlord needs to apply to court for a possession order.
The court must make a possession order if your landlord followed the correct process.
After the date on the possession order your landlord can apply for court bailiffs to evict you.
You'll normally have to pay the landlord’s court costs.
How to end your tenancy
You can end your periodic tenancy by giving your landlord written notice.
Your notice will normally need to:
be at least 28 days or a month if you pay rent monthly
end on the first or last day of a period of your tenancy
You’ll need to give a longer notice if that’s what your agreement says.
If you have a fixed term tenancy agreement you can only move out early if:
there is a break clause saying you can give notice
your landlord agrees to end the tenancy early
You can normally move out at the end of a fixed term agreement without giving formal notice. It’s a good idea to let your landlord know that you’re leaving.
Last updated: 3 September 2020
