Mid and East Antrim Council backs changes to eviction notice periods in private rental sector

Mid and East Antrim councillors have approved the borough council’s response to a Department for Communities (DfC) consultation on draft regulations covering notice-to-quit periods for landlords and tenants in the private rental sector.

A report presented to a recent meeting of the council’s Neighbourhoods and Communities Committee outlined that, at present, the minimum notice period landlords must give tenants is four weeks for tenancies of less than 12 months; eight weeks for tenancies between one and ten years; and 12 weeks for tenancies of ten years or more.

Councils’ environmental health departments are responsible for enforcing private tenancy legislation in Northern Ireland.

A 12-week public consultation is currently being carried out by DfC on proposed new regulations, which could introduce reduced notice-to-quit periods in certain circumstances. These include cases involving “substantial” rent arrears of more than two months, “serious” anti-social behaviour in the locality of the property, conviction of a “relevant criminal offence”, or where possession of the property is sought for the landlord or a member of their immediate family.

Under the proposals, notice periods could be reduced to a fortnight in cases of serious anti-social behaviour or relevant criminal convictions; one month for rent arrears exceeding two months; and three months where the landlord or a family member intends to occupy the property.

In its response, the council stated that, in cases of rent arrears, landlords should be required to provide evidence that they have attempted to engage with tenants through a repayment plan.

The local authority also said the special notice period for repossession due to occupation by the landlord or their family should be removed, with such cases instead reverting to the standard notice period based on the length of the tenancy.

The council added that it would welcome clarification from DfC that “evidence of repeated annoyance or disturbance should suffice” in cases of anti-social behaviour.

It further suggested that the term “nuisance” should be replaced with “disturbance”, and recommended that dog barking be explicitly included as an example of anti-social behaviour.

The council also called for guidance on how landlords could provide evidence of a relevant tenant conviction in the High Court.

Meanwhile, the draft Private Tenancies (Notice to Quit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025 also propose increasing minimum notice-to-quit periods in standard cases.

These would begin at eight weeks for tenancies of less than one year, rising to four months for one to three years, six months for three to eight years, and seven months for tenancies lasting eight years or more.

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At a glance

• Councillors approved Mid and East Antrim’s response to DfC consultation

• Proposed rules could shorten eviction notice periods in specific cases

• Fortnight notice suggested for serious anti-social behaviour or criminal convictions

• One month notice proposed for tenants with over two months’ rent arrears

• Council wants landlords to show attempts at repayment plans before eviction

• Call to remove shorter notice period for landlords reclaiming homes for family use

• Suggestion to replace “nuisance” with “disturbance” in legislation

• Dog barking proposed as an explicit example of anti-social behaviour

• Standard notice periods could increase to up to seven months for long tenancies