How do you evict a tenant with no written tenancy agreement?

In England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the absence of a written tenancy agreement does not turn a tenant into a trespasser. The route changes by nation, but the basic rule is the same: use the statutory notice-and-court process, not self-help.

Can you evict a tenant if there is no written tenancy agreement?

A verbal tenancy has the exact same legal status as a written one, in every nation — missing paperwork does not weaken the tenant’s protection or make eviction easier. In England, Shelter states that “Verbal agreements have the same status in law as written ones”, and the post-1 May 2026 written-statement regime expressly covers “a wholly oral tenancy entered into before 1st May 2026”, so the tenancy still exists even if the paperwork is missing. A landlord can still seek possession, but the notice itself must be written: Shelter says “You should get a written notice even if you do not have a written tenancy agreement”, and Housing Act 1988 s.16E bars a landlord from purporting to end an assured tenancy orally. Burys Solicitors’ warning that Section 21 is “not available” without a written AST is now the wrong focus for England, because GOV.UK’s live private-rented eviction route says landlords “need to give them a section 8 notice.”

How do you evict a tenant when there is no written tenancy agreement?

You evict a tenant with no written tenancy agreement by serving the correct written notice for the nation, proving the tenancy and ground for possession from the facts, getting a court or tribunal order, and using enforcement rather than changing locks. England: for an ordinary private assured tenancy, GOV.UK says “you’ll need to give them a section 8 notice”; the notice must be in writing even if the tenancy was oral, and Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.3 says it is not lawful to recover possession “otherwise than by proceedings in the court.” The current county-court possession issue fee is £415, not the widely repeated £404. Scotland: a private residential tenancy can be constituted despite not being written, but the landlord must supply written terms, and eviction goes to the First-tier Tribunal, which must issue an eviction order if a schedule 3 ground applies; mygov.scot says there is “no cost to apply to the tribunal.” Wales: an occupation contract can start verbally but must be followed by a written statement, and a landlord who gave that statement late cannot give a no-fault notice for six months after finally giving it. Northern Ireland: the notice to quit must be in the prescribed form, and after notice the landlord must still take the tenant to court. For a landlord who started a tenancy informally, Abodient's tenancy agreement generator can put a proper written agreement in place going forward, so future disputes don't turn on memory of a verbal arrangement.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Shelter Legal, “Tenancy and licence agreements” — “Verbal agreements have the same status in law as written ones.” Source
• The Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms and Information) (England) Regulations 2026, explanatory note — “Regulation 2 and the Schedule provide for the terms and information which must be included in a written statement given under section 16D of the 1988 Act by a landlord (or their contractor, as the case may be) of a tenancy entered into on or after 1st May 2026 or of a wholly oral tenancy entered into before 1st May 2026.” Source
• Law of Property Act 1925 s.54 — “Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act shall affect the creation by parol of leases taking effect in possession for a term not exceeding three years (whether or not the lessee is given power to extend the term) at the best rent which can be reasonably obtained without taking a fine.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.16E — “(c)purport to bring the tenancy to an end, or require that it is brought to an end, orally,” Source
• Shelter, “Eviction notices from private landlords” — “You should get a written notice even if you do not have a written tenancy agreement.” Source
• GOV.UK, “Evicting tenants in England” — “To evict your tenant from your property, you’ll need to give them a section 8 notice.” Source
• Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.3 — “it shall not be lawful for the owner to enforce against the occupier, otherwise than by proceedings in the court, his right to recover possession of the premises.” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 s.3 — “A purported contract becomes lawfully constituted, despite not being constituted in a written document as required by section 1(2) of the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995, when—” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 s.10 — “Where the terms of a private residential tenancy are not set out in writing between the parties, the landlord must, before the end of the day specified in subsection (2) or (as the case may be) (3), provide the tenant with a document which sets out all of the terms of the tenancy.” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 s.51 — “The First-tier Tribunal is to issue an eviction order against the tenant under a private residential tenancy if, on an application by the landlord, it finds that one of the eviction grounds named in schedule 3 applies.” Source
• mygov.scot, “Ending a tenancy as a landlord” — “There is no cost to apply to the tribunal.” Source
• Welsh Government, “Renting Homes: frequently asked questions for landlords” — “An occupation contract can be started verbally, but it needs to be followed up with a written statement of the contract.” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 Sch. 9A — “A landlord who has failed to comply with section 31(1) or (2) may not give notice during the period of six months starting with the day on which the landlord gave a written statement of the contract to the contract-holder.” Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 art.14 — “(a)it is in the prescribed form and contains the prescribed information, and” Source
• NI Direct, “Private rent and tenancies” — “Your basic rights as a tenant exist without a written agreement.” Source
• Housing Rights NI, “Eviction from a private tenancy” — “Your landlord must take you to court if they want to remove you.” Source
• Burys Solicitors, “Evicting a tenant without a tenancy agreement” — “Without a written agreement, these conditions cannot be met, so a Section 21 eviction is not available.” Source