Moving Out in England: Ending a Tenancy and Getting Your Deposit Back

This guide is for internationals who have recently moved to England and rent from a private landlord. After reading it, you will understand which eviction rules apply to your tenancy, what a landlord must do before you can be made to leave, and how a protected deposit is returned or disputed.

• Know your tenancy type
• Ending a tenancy: what the official pages cover
• When your landlord wants you to leave
• Check your deposit is protected
• Getting your deposit back and disputes
• FAQ

Know your tenancy type

The rules on leaving a rented home depend on the type of tenancy agreement you have and its terms. GOV.UK guidance on private renting evictions in England sets out three groups:

• Assured periodic tenancies (APTs): if you rent from a private landlord, you will usually have this type of tenancy. An APT runs on a rolling basis, for example weekly or monthly. It cannot be for longer than a month at a time and cannot have an end date.
• Excluded tenancies or licences: for example, where you live with your landlord.
• Regulated tenancies: if your tenancy started before 27 February 1997, you might have an assured or a regulated tenancy, with increased protection from eviction.

According to the tenancy deposit protection guidance, APTs replaced assured shorthold tenancies on 1 May 2026. If you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, different eviction procedures apply. Scotland and Northern Ireland also have separate deposit schemes.

Ending a tenancy: what the official pages cover

The two GOV.UK pages used for this guide focus on what landlords must do. They do not state how much notice a tenant must give to end an APT, or in what form. Those details are set out elsewhere, in your tenancy agreement and in wider GOV.UK guidance for renters in England, and are not covered here.

The pages do make one point clear: an APT has no fixed end date. A tenancy agreement with an end date is usually known as a fixed-term tenancy. An APT is not one, so it continues on a rolling basis until it is properly ended.

When your landlord wants you to leave

Your landlord must follow strict procedures if they need you to leave. If they do not, they may be guilty of illegally evicting or harassing you.

Assured periodic tenancies

A landlord can only evict you for certain reasons, for example:

• you have not paid the rent
• you are committing antisocial behaviour
• you have broken other terms of your tenancy
• the landlord or their close family needs to move into the property
• the landlord needs to sell the property

Your landlord cannot evict you to move in or sell within the first 12 months of your tenancy. They must give you proper notice, and how much depends on their reason. The official page does not list the notice periods.

If you do not leave at the end of the notice period, your landlord must apply to the court for a possession order. They will need to show that they followed the correct processes for tenancy deposits, including protecting the deposit in a government-approved scheme. If the court grants the order and you do not leave by the date in it, the landlord must apply for a warrant for possession. This means bailiffs can evict you.

If you owe rent and claim Universal Credit or Housing Benefit, your landlord may be able to have the rent paid straight to them instead of evicting you. This is known as managed payments.

Excluded tenancies and licences

In these cases the landlord does not have to go to court. They only need to give reasonable notice, and the notice does not have to be in writing. There are no set rules about what counts as reasonable. It depends on how long you have lived there, how often you pay rent, whether you get on with your landlord and how quickly they need someone else to move in. After that, they can change the locks on your rooms, but they must give your belongings back. If you do not think you were given enough warning, your local council can give advice. The council can also take action over an illegal eviction.

Free legal advice

If your landlord gives written notice that they need you to leave, you can get free legal advice from the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service. This may help you keep your home.

Check your deposit is protected

If you rent on an APT, your landlord or letting agent must put your deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme within 30 days of getting it. In England and Wales, deposits can be registered with:

• Deposit Protection Service
• MyDeposits, including deposits that were held by Capita
• Tenancy Deposit Scheme

The deposit must still be protected if someone else paid it, such as a rent deposit scheme or your parents. A holding deposit is money paid to hold a property before an agreement is signed, and it does not have to be protected. Once you become a tenant, it becomes a deposit, and the landlord must protect it. If you do not rent on an APT, a landlord can accept valuable items, such as a car or watch, as a deposit. These items are not protected by a scheme.

Getting your deposit back and disputes

The schemes make sure you get your deposit back if you meet the terms of your tenancy agreement, do not damage the property, and pay your rent and bills.

At the end of the tenancy, your landlord must return your deposit within 10 days of you both agreeing how much you will get back. If you are in a dispute with your landlord over deductions, the deposit stays protected in the TDP scheme until the issue is sorted out. The GOV.UK page does not describe how each scheme handles disputes or whether there are time limits. That is for the scheme holding the deposit to set out.

FAQ

Can my landlord evict me in my first year so they can sell?

Not on an assured periodic tenancy in England. The official guidance says a landlord cannot evict you to move in or sell the property within the first 12 months of the tenancy.

Can I be removed from my home without a court order?

On an APT, if you stay past the notice period, the landlord must get a possession order. If you are still there after the date in the order, they must then get a warrant for possession before bailiffs can evict you. With an excluded tenancy or licence, such as living with your landlord, no court is needed, but the landlord must give reasonable notice.

How quickly must my deposit be returned?

Within 10 days of you and your landlord agreeing how much you will get back. If you disagree, the deposit stays protected in the scheme until the dispute is sorted out.

Does moving house affect my visa?

The official pages used in this guide cover housing rules only and say nothing about immigration. Specific immigration questions are for an adviser regulated by the OISC or a solicitor regulated by the SRA.

Official sources: gov.uk · gov.uk

Last verified: 1 November 2026 against the official pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the official page always wins.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Immigration advice in the UK may only be given by advisers regulated by the OISC or by solicitors regulated by the SRA.