Essential Steps for Landlords: Issuing Notices to Quit
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General guidance only, not legal advice. This page applies to England. Last reviewed: November 2026.
Essential Steps for Landlords Issuing a Notice to Quit
A notice to quit ends a periodic tenancy or licence that isn't an assured tenancy, such as a lodger, a company let or a resident-landlord tenancy. It only works if the occupier isn't an assured tenant, the notice period is right, and the notice is served properly. Here's how to get it right.
Step 1: Confirm a notice to quit is the right route
Common situations where a notice to quit is used:
- A tenancy granted to a company rather than an individual
- A tenancy where the landlord lives in the same building (resident landlord)
- A lodger who shares the landlord's home (an excluded licence)
- A tenancy with annual rent over £100,000
- Some commercial lettings outside the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
If the occupier is an assured tenant, a notice to quit will not work. Use a Section 8 notice instead.
Step 2: Work out the notice period
- Most residential occupiers protected by the Protection from Eviction Act 1977: at least 4 weeks' written notice, containing the prescribed information.
- Periodic tenancies at common law: the notice must also expire at the end or start of a period of the tenancy, and be at least one full period (yearly tenancies need 6 months).
- Excluded lodgers: reasonable notice, usually one rental period. Writing it down is best practice.
Step 3: Prepare the notice
Include the parties' names, the property address, the date the tenancy or licence ends and, where required, the prescribed information. Check any terms in the agreement about notice and service.
Step 4: Serve it correctly
Serve the notice in a way allowed by the agreement and the law, such as by hand or by post, and keep proof of service.
Step 5: If the occupier doesn't leave
For most occupiers, you need a court possession order and, if necessary, bailiffs. Don't change the locks or remove belongings without one. Only excluded occupiers, such as lodgers who share your living space, can be required to leave without a court order once the notice has expired, and even then you must act peacefully.
Common mistakes
- Using a notice to quit against an assured tenant
- Giving too little notice, or an end date that doesn't match the rental period
- Leaving out the prescribed information
- Evicting without a court order where one is required, which is a criminal offence
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