Your landlord can only end your tenancy if they:

• give you a legal notice called a section 8 notice

• get an eviction order from a court

But your landlord does not need to go to court if you or another joint tenant give a valid notice that ends the tenancy.

Check the notice from your landlord

A section 8 notice is not valid unless it is on form 3A or has all the information on this form.

See form 3A on GOV.UK

Check why your landlord wants you to leave

Your landlord needs a reason to end your tenancy.

Legal reasons are called 'possession grounds' on the notice. The grounds have numbers.

You can find this information on pages 3 to 5 of the notice.

Does the notice mention ground 4A?

This means your landlord wants you all to leave in the summer so they can rent to a new group of students.

You must get at least 4 months' notice if your landlord wants you to leave in summer 2027.

Does the notice mention other grounds?

Some other reasons for eviction are:

• missed or late rent payments (grounds 8, 10 and 11)

• too much noise or antisocial behaviour (grounds 7A and 14)

• breaking a term in your tenancy, like smoking or subletting (ground 12)

The court can sometimes stop an eviction on these grounds.

Our section 8 eviction guide has more on:

• checking the notice is valid

• how much notice you should get

Should you move out when the notice ends?

You do not have to leave when a notice from your landlord ends.

Your landlord can apply to court for an eviction order if you do not leave.

You have a right to stay while your landlord applies to court.

If your landlord gets an eviction order, they can ask bailiffs to evict you.

It could cost you several hundred pounds if you are evicted by bailiffs.

Talk to your housemates about their plans

You might all decide to leave if you find somewhere else to live.

This avoids the stress and costs of being evicted through court.

What if new tenants are ready to move in?

Your landlord might have agreed to rent the property to different tenants.

For example, another group of students might have a contract to start in July or September.

If you still live there, this could be difficult for the landlord and the group expecting to move in.

Your landlord still needs to get an eviction order from a court to make you leave.