What is a Secure Tenant ?

Secure Tenants have landlords who are public bodies such as local authorities. The landlord must get a court order if they want to end the tenancy. The property must be a place to live in. The tenant must be an individual rather than a company or charity etc. The property must have been let as a separate place to live in.

Temporary accommodation given to homeless people will not be secure tenancies

I have received a written notice from my landlord telling me I have to leave the property by a certain date. What can I do ?

If you receive a written notice from your landlord telling you to leave the property don’t panic. The notice will have on it a date when your landlord wants you to leave. You do not have to leave by this date.

Your landlord must go to court to get a possession order to evict you. Your landlord is not allowed to force you to leave without first getting a court order.

However, your landlord will be entitled to claim back their court costs against you if they do go to court. You should always seek legal advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau or a solicitor about the written notice you have received.

If the notice is incorrect because it is written in the wrong way, or does not say why your landlord wants to evict you and does not give a date from which court proceedings will be started, you may be able to delay your landlord getting the property back. Contact one of our solicitors on this site as a matter of urgency.

I have been living in a property, but my name is not on the rent book and the person whose name is on the rent book has just died. What can I do ?

If you were a member of the tenant’s family then you may be able to take over the tenancy after their death.

A member of the family means the following:
brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, mother, father, son, daughter, grandparents, grandchildren, husband, wife or unmarried partner.

If you were not married to the tenant you have to have been living with the tenant for at least 12 months before the tenant died and the property must have been your only home.

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