Eviction ban Q&A: What to do if you have been served with Notice to Quit by your landlord

What is going on with the eviction ban?

​I have been served with a Notice to Quit by my landlord, what can I do?

The best thing to do is to get expert advice for your situation. You can call Threshold on 1800 454 454, Focus Ireland through one of its regional offices, or look up your local free legal advice centre.

If you believe you are at risk of needing emergency accommodation, you should contact your local authority.

The most important thing to establish is if your notice of termination is valid. If it’s not, the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) might be able to help you.

If you are in receipt of HAP and your landlord is planning to sell your rented accommodation, it is worth asking your landlord if they have considered the Tenant In Situ scheme – where a local authority could buy the property from the landlord and continue renting it to you.

It is important to state that not everyone’s termination date after the end of the eviction ban will be the same, as the termination dates depend on how long you have been renting the property. Organisations such as Threshold have advised that people double check when the end of their tenancy is.​

What is overholding?

Since the Government pressed ahead with the controversial decision to lift the eviction ban, a lot of people have been talking about overholding – where you stay in your property even after a valid notice of termination from your landlord has expired.

Some believe that instances of overholding may increase in the wake of the eviction ban being lifted. It should be noted that overholding is generally not advised by housing support groups.

If you remain in the property after your notice of termination, you will still have to pay rent. Your landlord can accept this rent while still pursuing the termination of the tenancy.

FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) warned this week that the “harsh” reality was that most tenants who call looking for help have been served with valid notices of termination from their landlords.

If the matter goes to the District Court, tenants risk losing their bid to overturn a determination order from the RTB on the tenancy and risk being landed with a legal bill.

It may be a safer or better to ask your landlord to informally agree to give you more time in the property, particularly if you are worried that you may have to rely on emergency accommodation.