Ending Your Tenancy

Guidance on ending your tenancy and your rights if your landlord wants you to leave

Who needs to give notice to end their tenancy?

Our Rights Checker can tell you:

If you are in a fixed term
If you need to end your tenancy
If you can leave early
If your landlord can evict you under student eviction grounds

Ending your tenancy //

How to end your tenancy

Visit our Rights Checker first to find out if you can end your tenancy.

If you can serve notice to end your tenancy, you must:

Give at least 2 months’ notice. You can give more than 2 months's notice if you would like to do so. Shorter notice can be allowed only if everyone agrees to it in writing (including all tenants if you're in a joint tenancy), or if it's in your contract.
End the tenancy on the last day or first day of a tenancy period (see examples below to help you)
Put your notice in writing

Shelter has written a template letter that you can use. Follow this link to download it as a Word document.

How to send your notice to the landlord

Check your tenancy agreement to see when your notice will be considered to be 'served' and whether it disallows any methods like texting. Your landlord cannot force you to use a certain written method, but following the tenancy agreement (where possible) will help avoid disputes.

Texts and emails may be considered served on the same day if they were sent before 5 pm.

If you're posting, it is counted as 'served' 2 business days later.

Visit Shelter for more advice on how to serve notice.

How to calculate the end date

Your notice must end on the first or last day of a rent period, and you must give at least two months' notice.

Your rent period will depend on how you pay rent:

Monthly rent: based on your rent payment date
Instalments: based on your tenancy start date

Example 1: Instalments

You pay rent in three instalments over the year. Your tenancy began on 20 September.

Use the date your tenancy started: 20 September
Period runs: 20th → 19th of each month

If you give notice on 1 May:

Must allow 2 months → tenancy can't end before 1 July
Period ends on 19 July

➡️ End date: 19 July

Example 2: Rent in middle of each month

You pay rent monthly, on the 15th of each month.

Use the date your rent is due: 15th
Period runs: 15th → 14th of each month

Notice on 13 May:

Must allow 2 months → tenancy can't end before 13 July
Period ends on 14 July

➡️ End date: 14 July

Example 3: Rent on 1st day of each month

You pay rent monthly, on the 1st of each month.

Use the date your rent is due: 1st
Period runs: 1st → last day of each month

Notice on 6 May:

Must allow 2 months → tenancy can't end before 6 July
Period ends on 31 July

➡️ End date: 31 July

Example 4: Posting notice

You pay rent monthly, on the 4th of each month. You decide to send notice by post.

Use the date your rent is due:4th
Period runs: 4th → 3rd day of each month

Posted on Friday 1 May

Served: Wednesday 6 May (bank holiday delay)
Must allow 2 months → tenancy can't end before 6 July
Period ends on 3 August

➡️ End date: 3 August

💡 In this scenario, serving notice by email or text would have saved you a month's rent!

What can Your landlord do to end the tenancy? //

Eviction using Ground 4A (student eviction)

When Can a Landlord Use This?

This is only available to your landlord if:

You are a shared house of 3 or more people, and all of you are full-time students
You are living in purpose-built student accommodation in a contract you entered into before 1 May 2026

Your landlord may give you notice to leave in summer using eviction Ground 4A, which allows landlords to end student tenancies at the end of the academic year in order to rent to a new group of students. There are conditions for using this eviction ground:

Landlord must have given you notice in writing, before the tenancy agreement is signed, informing you they intend to rely on Ground 4A to end the tenancy.
Landlord must not sign you up for the tenancy more than 6 months before the tenancy begins. If you sign up earlier, the landlord forfeits their right to use 4A. (This is not a requirement if you signed up before 1 May 2026).
Landlord must give you at least 4 months’ notice. The notice period must end between 1 June and 30 September.

If you entered into your tenancy before 1 May 2026: your landlord needed to write to you by 31 May 2026, to tell you they intend to rely on Ground 4A to end the tenancy. If they did not do this, they are not allowed to evict you using this ground.

If you entered into your tenancy on or after 1 May 2026: your landlord must have given you notice in writing, before the tenancy agreement was signed, informing you they intend to rely on Ground 4A to end the tenancy.

If your landlord does not, or cannot, serve notice using student eviction grounds, you will need to make sure you end the tenancy yourself by serving notice.

Serving Notice Under Ground 4A

Your landlord must serve the notice on Form 3A.

If the tenancy agreement includes a clause about how to serve the notice, your landlord must follow that method. They can only serve the notice by email if the written tenancy agreement is clear that email is an agreed method of service. Otherwise, they can serve the notice by:

giving it to you in person or posting through the letter box
sending it using registered post

Eviction using other grounds

Landlords can’t just kick you out without a reason. Your landlord will need valid grounds to evict you, using a Section 8 Notice, and it will involve a lengthy court process. You can read more about this on Shelter.

Some grounds are called 'mandatory', meaning the court will order possession if the landlord proves the ground is met. Some examples are:

Ground 1 – Landlord or Family Moving In: Landlord or a close family member need to live in the property (4 months' notice; cannot be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy).
Ground 1A – Selling the Property: The landlord intends to sell the home (4 months' notice; cannot be used in the first 12 months).
Ground 2 – Mortgage Repossession: A mortgage lender needs to sell the property because the landlord missed payments (4 months' notice).
Ground 4A – Student eviction (see above).
Ground 7A – Serious Anti-Social Behaviour: Proven severe crime, rioting, or nuisance (Immediate / direct court action).
Ground 7B – No Right to Rent: The tenant does not have legal immigration status to rent in the UK (2 weeks' notice).
Ground 8 – Serious Rent Arrears: The tenant owes at least 2 months' or 8 weeks' unpaid rent (4 weeks' notice).

Other grounds are called 'discretionary' meaning the court can make a possession order if it is reasonable to do so. Examples are:

Ground 9 – Alternative Accommodation: Suitable alternative housing is offered to the tenant (2 months' notice).
Ground 10 – Minor Rent Arrears: Some unpaid rent exists, but less than the mandatory threshold (4 weeks' notice).
Ground 11 – Persistent Late Rent: The tenant repeatedly pays rent late (4 weeks' notice).
Ground 12 – Breach of Tenancy: The tenant breaks a rule in the agreement, other than paying rent (2 weeks' notice).
Ground 13 – Property Damage: The tenant lets the condition of the property get worse (2 weeks' notice).
Ground 14 – General Anti-Social Behaviour: Nuisance, annoyance, or illegal use of the property (Immediate notice).
Ground 15 – Damaged Furniture: The tenant ruins furniture supplied with the property (2 weeks' notice).
Ground 17 – False Statement: The tenant gave false information to get the tenancy (2 weeks' notice).

I've been served notice, When do i have to leave?

If your landlord has served valid notice, you have the right to remain until after the notice period has passed.

Your landlord must go through the following legal process, which will take time:

Serve proper notice;
Apply for, and obtain, a possession order from the court;
Apply for, and obtain, a warrant of eviction from the court;
Arrange for bailiffs to evict once the warrant date has passed.

If your landlord tries to force you to leave, changes the locks, or removes your belongings, it would be an illegal eviction.