Evicting a lodger: how much notice, and can you do it without a court order?

In England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the answer depends on whether the person is genuinely sharing the landlord’s home as a lodger or has stronger occupation rights. A resident-landlord lodger can usually be removed after valid notice without the full tenant possession process, but Scotland and Northern Ireland have different notice and enforcement rules.

How much notice do you have to give a lodger to leave?

In England and Wales, no Act fixes a number of days for ending a typical resident-landlord lodger’s excluded licence, so you normally give the agreed notice or reasonable notice, not an automatic four weeks. GOV.UK’s practical guide says reasonable notice is usually the rent period: “Usually this means the length of the rental payment period – so if your lodger pays rent weekly, you need to give one week’s notice.” That is guidance, because the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 disapplies its statutory notice-to-quit rules for “premises occupied under an excluded licence.” Immediate eviction, kicking a lodger out without notice, or terminating a licence agreement on the spot is risky unless the circumstances make no notice reasonable. Scotland is stricter where the room is let as a dwelling-house: the notice must be written and given “not less than four weeks” before it takes effect. Northern Ireland treats people sharing the owner’s home as lodgers, not tenants, and no statutory lodger notice period is fixed.

What does a notice to a lodger have to say?

In England and Wales, a lodger eviction notice for an excluded licence does not need a statutory form, prescribed wording, or even writing, but a written notice naming the lodger, address, date served and leave date is the safest template. GOV.UK says: “The notice does not have to be in writing.” The notice-to-quit prescribed-information rules do not apply to excluded licences: the 1988 regulations say, “They do not apply to the premises specified in section 5(1B) of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 (premises subject to excluded licences or certain excluded tenancies).” Do not use a Section 8 or Section 21 notice for a genuine lodger who shares your home; those are tenant possession routes, not the ordinary resident-landlord licence-termination process. Scotland is different if the room is let as a dwelling-house, because the statutory notice must be written, contain prescribed information and give at least four weeks. In Northern Ireland, keep the notice simple and written, because reasonable notice is the safer evidence even where no statutory form applies.

Do you need a court order to evict a lodger, or can you change the locks?

In England and Wales, you do not need a court order to evict a genuine excluded-occupier lodger after valid notice has expired, and GOV.UK says: “You can then change the locks on your lodger’s rooms, even if they have left their belongings there.” The Protection from Eviction Act court-order protection applies to licences “other than an excluded licence,” so a live-in landlord does not serve Section 8 or use the ordinary court possession process just because the lodger refuses to leave after notice. You must not use or threaten violence while the lodger is present and resisting; the Criminal Law Act says ownership is not lawful authority for “the use or threat of violence.” In Scotland, a resident-landlord sharer sits outside the usual tribunal eviction machinery, and Shelter Scotland says the landlord can ask police to remove a lodger who refuses to leave. In Northern Ireland, council guidance says no court order is needed for licensees who share with the landlord, but other NI advice urges a court order, so the practical risk is more contested.

When do you need a court order, because the occupier is not really a lodger?

You need a court order where the occupier is not a true resident-landlord lodger: for example, they do not share living accommodation with you, they have exclusive possession, or the arrangement is a tenancy or non-excluded licence. GOV.UK says that if the person lives in your home but does not share living space, “you’ll need to get a court order to evict them.” Sharing only access does not count; the Protection from Eviction Act says accommodation “includes neither an area used for storage nor a staircase, passage, corridor or other means of access.” Calling an occupier a lodger is not decisive, because Street v Mountford says that if the agreement satisfies the requirements of a tenancy, the parties “cannot alter the effect of the agreement by insisting that they only created a licence.” In Wales, a shared-accommodation arrangement is outside the occupation-contract system unless the landlord gives the statutory notice making it one. In Scotland, if the landlord is not resident, Shelter says a tribunal eviction order is usually needed. Unpaid guest-house licence charges are a debt issue: use the money-claim route covered below.

Can you evict a lodger who has no written agreement?

Yes, you can evict a lodger who has no written agreement if they are genuinely a lodger and you give the notice the law or the bargain requires. In England, Citizens Advice puts the point directly: “You’re their landlord even if you don’t have a written lodging agreement.” GOV.UK also says an excluded-occupier notice does not have to be written, but a written message or letter avoids an argument about whether notice was given, when it expires, and what exactly was said. In England and Wales, the four-week statutory notice-to-quit rule is not imposed on excluded licences, because the Protection from Eviction Act carves out “premises occupied under an excluded licence.” Wales follows the same practical distinction for excluded occupiers, and Shelter Cymru says a verbal agreement can still be legally binding. Scotland is more formal for dwelling-house lets: where nothing is in writing, Shelter Scotland says notice is usually at least 28 days. Northern Ireland recognises lodger arrangements where people share the owner’s home, but reasonable written notice remains the safest proof.

What can you do if a lodger stops paying rent?

If a lodger stops paying rent, you can demand payment, end the licence on the agreed or reasonable notice, remove them without the tenant possession process if they are genuinely excluded, and claim the arrears as a civil debt. Non-payment does not create a special lodger rent-arrears ground or a fixed statutory waiting period in England and Wales; the route is still licence termination, not Section 8. GOV.UK says that after valid notice you may change the locks on the lodger’s rooms, but you still must not use or threaten violence. Citizens Advice also warns that a landlord cannot keep a lodger’s possessions as security for rent unless a court order allows it: “If your lodger owes you rent, you’re not allowed to keep their belongings to recover the money they owe unless you have a court order that says you can.” If payment is refused, Citizens Advice says: “If they refuse, you can take them to the small claims court.” In England and Wales, GOV.UK gives £205 as the court-fee example for a money claim between £3,000.01 and £5,000.

How much notice does a lodger have to give you?

GOV.UK tells a lodger to expect “4 weeks if weekly, one month if monthly” — that figure is the ordinary notice-to-quit rule, which PEA 1977 disapplies for excluded licences. No statute sets it; don't repeat the figure as law. In England and Wales, a typical sharing lodger must give whatever notice was agreed, or reasonable notice if the agreement is silent; the MHCLG resident-landlord guide says: “For excluded licences, the notice required is simply the longer of whatever has been agreed between the parties (if anything) and what is ‘reasonable’.” That means a live-in landlord can agree two weeks for the landlord’s notice and two months for the lodger’s notice, provided the term is not unfair or otherwise unenforceable; the answer is contractual, not statutory. In Wales, Shelter Cymru says reasonable notice is usually one rental period. Scotland is different: resident-landlord lets are not private residential tenancies, but Shelter Scotland says that if the agreement is silent, the occupier should usually give at least 28 days. Northern Ireland has no fixed statutory lodger notice period.

If a lodger leaves early, do you have to refund their rent?

You do not automatically have to refund rent just because a lodger leaves early; the answer depends on the agreement, whether the licence or fixed term has ended, and whether you can reduce your loss by re-letting. In England, the MHCLG resident-landlord guide says that if the terms do not allow early ending and the landlord does not agree, “he or she will be contractually responsible for ensuring rent is paid for the entire length of the fixed term.” That does not mean the landlord can always keep or recover everything, because the same guide says there is “a responsibility on the landlord in this situation to try to cover his or her losses in other ways, notably by trying to re-let the accommodation.” Citizens Advice gives the same practical warning: “You have to give notice in the correct way - if you don’t, you might have to pay rent even after you’ve moved out.” In Scotland, Shelter says an early leaver may have to pay rent until the end of the fixed term. Many lodger templates refund unused prepaid rent after termination, but that is a contract term, not a universal statutory refund.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Rent a room in your home: ending a letting — “Usually this means the length of the rental payment period – so if your lodger pays rent weekly, you need to give one week’s notice.” Source
• Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.5 — “(b)premises occupied under an excluded licence.” Source
• Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 s.112 — “No notice by a landlord or a tenant to quit any premises let (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) as a dwelling-house shall be valid unless it is in writing and contains such information as may be prescribed and is given not less than four weeks before the date on which it is to take effect.” Source
• nidirect, Letting rooms in your home — “If you let part of your home and also live there, the people sharing your accommodation are lodgers, not tenants.” Source
• GOV.UK, Rent a room in your home: ending a letting — “The notice does not have to be in writing.” Source
• The Notices to Quit etc. (Prescribed Information) Regulations 1988, explanatory note — “They do not apply to the premises specified in section 5(1B) of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 (premises subject to excluded licences or certain excluded tenancies).” Source
• GOV.UK, Rent a room in your home: ending a letting — “You can then change the locks on your lodger’s rooms, even if they have left their belongings there.” Source
• Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.3 — “Subsections (1) and (2) above apply in relation to any premises occupied as a dwelling under a licence, other than an excluded licence, as they apply in relation to premises let as a dwelling under a tenancy, and in those subsections the expressions “let” and “tenancy” shall be construed accordingly.” Source
• Criminal Law Act 1977 s.6 — “Subject to subsection (1A) above, the fact that a person has any interest in or right to possession or occupation of any premises shall not for the purposes of subsection (1) above constitute lawful authority for the use or threat of violence by him or anyone else for the purpose of securing his entry into those premises.” Source
• Shelter Scotland, Resident landlord eviction advice — “They can ask the police to remove you if you refuse to leave.” Source
• Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Harassment and unlawful eviction — “Landlords doe not need a Court Order to evict Licensees, who share part or all of a property (usually with the Landlord).” Source
• GOV.UK, Rent a room in your home: your lodger’s tenancy type — “If your lodger will not leave when you ask them, you’ll need to get a court order to evict them.” Source
• Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.3A — “(a) “accommodation” includes neither an area used for storage nor a staircase, passage, corridor or other means of access;” Source
• Street v Mountford [1985] UKHL 4 — “If the agreement satisfied all the requirements of a tenancy, then the agreement produced a tenancy and the parties cannot alter the effect of the agreement by insisting that they only created a licence.” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 Sch.2 — “A tenancy or licence within section 7, but to which sub-paragraph (2) applies, is not an occupation contract unless the notice condition is met.” Source
• Shelter Scotland, Resident landlord eviction advice — “Your landlord will usually need to get an eviction order from a tribunal to make you leave.” Source
• Citizens Advice, Landlords of lodgers: if you want your lodger to move out — “You’re their landlord even if you don’t have a written lodging agreement.” Source
• Shelter Cymru, Excluded occupiers — “It is best to have a renting agreement in writing but even if your agreement is verbal it can still be legally binding.” Source
• Shelter Scotland, Resident landlord eviction advice — “Usually this should be at least 28 days.” Source
• Citizens Advice, Landlords of lodgers: if you want your lodger to move out — “If your lodger owes you rent, you’re not allowed to keep their belongings to recover the money they owe unless you have a court order that says you can.” Source
• Citizens Advice, Landlords of lodgers: if you want your lodger to move out — “If they refuse, you can take them to the small claims court.” Source
• GOV.UK, Make a court claim for money: court fees — “For example, if you estimate you’re claiming between £3,000.01 and £5,000, you’d have to pay £205.” Source
• GOV.UK, Rent a room in your home: ending a letting — “Otherwise, it’s usually at least 4 weeks (if they pay weekly) or one month (if they pay monthly).” Source
• GOV.UK, Letting rooms in your home: a guide for resident landlords — “For excluded licences, the notice required is simply the longer of whatever has been agreed between the parties (if anything) and what is ‘reasonable’.” Source
• Shelter Cymru, Excluded occupiers — “If you have a periodic agreement you have to give whatever notice is specified in your agreement, or ‘reasonable notice’, which is usually the same as one rental period (i.e. one week, if you pay the rent weekly).” Source
• Shelter Scotland, Resident landlord tenants’ rights — “If it does not say, you should usually give at least 28 days’ notice.” Source
• GOV.UK, Letting rooms in your home: a guide for resident landlords — “If neither the terms of the let nor you allow the occupier to end the arrangement early, he or she will be contractually responsible for ensuring rent is paid for the entire length of the fixed term.” Source
• GOV.UK, Letting rooms in your home: a guide for resident landlords — “However, this does not mean that you would necessarily be able to claim for the whole term’s rent if the occupier leaves early: there is also a responsibility on the landlord in this situation to try to cover his or her losses in other ways, notably by trying to re-let the accommodation.” Source
• Citizens Advice, Check your rights if you’re an excluded occupier — “You have to give notice in the correct way - if you don’t, you might have to pay rent even after you’ve moved out.” Source
• Shelter Scotland, Resident landlord tenants’ rights — “You may have to pay rent until the end of your fixed term.” Source