Managing a tenancy - information for landlords

Contents

• How it works
• Starting a tenancy
• During a tenancy
• Ending a tenancy 
• Support for landlords
• Local authority enforcement

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Ending a tenancy

If you want your tenants to leave, you must give them notice in a particular way, including certain information and warnings. This depends on the type of tenancy agreement and its terms.

The advice below is specifically for assured periodic tenancies, make sure you understand the type of tenancy you have issued before you serve notice. 

If you serve the wrong notice and the case goes to court, you could delay the process and incur costs.

From the 1 May 2026 it is an offence to  use a section 21 notice to end a tenancy, even if your tenant had a fixed term tenancy agreement in place before 1 May.  

You can start possession proceedings by serving a Section 8 notice. You must have a valid reason for asking tenants to leave, these are known as ‘grounds’. The current legal notice must be given on Form 3a. Read the grounds for possession guidance which lists all the grounds you can use.  

You will need to explain which grounds you are using to evict your tenant, and you will need to be able evidence for why you are using these grounds, for example, if a tenant has been causing antisocial behaviour. You will need to give notice to your tenant by giving them the completed form with the correct notice period.   

See: Renting out your property: guidance for landlords and letting agents - Giving notice to evict tenants - Guidance - GOV.UK

Notice periods

The notice period will depend on the ground being used. Read the grounds for possession guidance which lists all the grounds and notice periods you will need to give your tenant. 

See: Renting out your property: guidance for landlords and letting agents - Giving notice to evict tenants - Guidance - GOV.UK

Council tax

From 1 May 2026, when a tenant moves out of your property, they will only have to pay Council Tax until the end of their two-month written notice period, regardless of what their original tenancy agreement specified.

If a tenant does not provide you with two months written notice of their intention to move out, the Council Tax bill will remain in their name. See About Council Tax for more information about who pays Council Tax.

Once your tenant’s notice period ends, liability to pay Council Tax will become your responsibility. You will need to tell the Council Tax team if you intend to advertise the property for sale or rental to avoid paying too much. See Council tax for empty properties and second homes Council tax reductions for unoccupied properties for more information.

Eviction

If your tenant does not leave the property, you cannot remove your tenants by force. If the notice period expires and your tenants do not leave the property, you can start the process of eviction - GOV.UK through the courts.

Retaliatory or revenge eviction

Retaliatory, or revenge, eviction is when a private landlord evicts a tenant who asks for repairs or complains about bad housing conditions.

You must have a valid reason for asking tenants to leave through the Section 8 process using one of the possession grounds. You will not be able to use a section 21 notice to end an assured periodic tenancy. 

Illegal eviction

If you do not follow the requirements of the law in ending your tenancy agreement with your tenant as outlined above and you forcibly change the locks without proper notice and court action, you are likely to be breaking the law. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 places a duty on us to investigate and enforce cases of unlawful eviction and/or harassment which could result in prosecution or a Civil Penalty.