Stopping eviction for antisocial behaviour
Your landlord must follow a strict legal process to evict you for antisocial behaviour. They cannot force you to leave without an eviction order from a court or tribunal.
There are steps you can take to stop the eviction. If you can explain the behaviour or show it will stop, the court or tribunal can decide not to evict you.
The eviction rules apply if you rent from a private landlord, letting agent, council, or housing association.
You'll have less protection against eviction if you live with your landlord.
What counts as antisocial behaviour
Antisocial behaviour means acting in a way that causes or could cause alarm or distress to someone in a different household. This could include:
making excessive noise
intimidating, threatening or harassing someone
damaging or vandalising property
As a tenant, you’re responsible for:
your own behaviour in your home and local area
antisocial behaviour by anyone who lives with you or visits you
There are steps you can take to avoid complaints from your neighbours.
Check our advice on what to do if you've been accused of antisocial behaviour.
What to say to your landlord if you're threatened with eviction
Contact your landlord to negotiate. You could:
ask what you need to do to keep your home
agree on behaviour that is acceptable for everyone
go to mediation to resolve issues with any neighbours
Keep a copy of any emails or letters you send. You might need this for evidence at the court or tribunal.
Use our letter template to help you know what to say. Copy and paste the sample text and personalise it with your details.
Template: ask for time to deal with antisocial behaviour
Subject: dealing with antisocial behaviour complaints
I’m asking for more time to deal with complaints about antisocial behaviour.
I’m taking the following steps to prevent further complaints.
I've stopped <example: the behaviour that was causing complaints / people coming to your home who were behaving antisocially>.
I ask that we <example: meet to discuss the complaints / agree on behaviour that's acceptable to everyone / use mediation to resolve the issue>
Please take into account the following circumstances that may have contributed to complaints about my behaviour: <any disabilities, medical conditions or addiction issues that you’re comfortable telling them about>.
I've contacted <example: your GP or support services> for extra support with my health and wellbeing, which I believe will help reduce complaints about my behaviour.
Let me know what else I can do to avoid eviction and keep my home.
Please confirm in writing that you’ll give me time and support to deal with these issues.
<your name>
You can also download the letter to send as an email attachment or through the post:
If you’re disabled or have a relevant medical condition
If the antisocial behaviour is a direct result of your disability or medical condition, explain this to your landlord if you feel comfortable doing so.
Provide medical evidence such as a letter from your GP.
Ask your GP to be referred to a community mental health team or drug and alcohol service if you think these issues are causing the behaviour.
This could help your landlord understand your situation. If they do not take your disability or medical condition into account, a solicitor could argue that you should not be evicted for this reason.
If you think you’re experiencing disability discrimination, get advice from the Equality Advisory and Support Service.
Eviction if you rent from the council or housing association
Councils and housing associations usually have antisocial behaviour policies.
Their policy should say when and how they must deal with antisocial behaviour. Ask for a copy and check that they’re following it properly. Make sure they’re not skipping any steps.
If they decide to evict you, the council or housing must send you a letter called a notice of proceedings. It must say which eviction ground is being used.
It must give you at least 28 days’ notice before they can apply to the sheriff court for an eviction order. You do not have to move out by the date on your notice of proceedings.
The council or housing association will likely use one of the following eviction grounds:
Eviction ground 8: nuisance, annoyance or harassment
This ground can be used if the council or housing association believe it's appropriate to move you.
For example, if they think the behaviour would stop if you were given a home somewhere else.
Eviction from a short Scottish secure tenancy
In most cases, the eviction process is the same. The council must use an eviction ground.
The only exception is at the end of your fixed term. If you're being evicted at the end of your fixed term:
you must get a letter called a notice of possession
the notice of possession must give you at least 2 months' notice
the council or housing association does not need to use an eviction ground
you can appeal the eviction within 14 days' of getting a notice of possession
Contact a Shelter Scotland adviser or get legal advice from a solicitor if you're being evicted from a short Scottish secure tenancy. They can tell you your rights and help you appeal.
If you're offered a short Scottish secure tenancy
In some cases, the council or housing association can offer you a short Scottish secure tenancy instead of evicting you.
This can help you keep your home, but it means you'll have less protection against eviction in future.
If you’re being offered a short Scottish secure tenancy, contact a Shelter Scotland adviser or get a solicitor to help you understand your rights.
Eviction if you rent from a private landlord or letting agent
Your landlord cannot just tell you to leave. They must give you a valid eviction notice in writing. You do not have to move out by the deadline on the notice.
Your landlord can only make you leave by getting an eviction order from the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber).
Your rights depend on the tenancy type you have. If you moved in on or after 1 December 2017 you’ll have a private residential tenancy.
If you moved in before this date, you’ll usually have an assured or short assured tenancy.
If you have a private residential tenancy
Your landlord must send you a notice to leave. It must say which eviction ground is being used. Your landlord can use:
ground 13: criminal behaviour
ground 14: antisocial behaviour
ground 15: association with someone who has a relevant conviction or has engaged in relevant antisocial behaviour
The notice to leave must give you 28 days notice before they can apply to the tribunal for an eviction order.
Check our advice on eviction from a private residential tenancy.
If you have an assured or short assured tenancy
Your landlord must give you a valid notice to quit, and either an AT6 form or a section 33 notice.
If you get an AT6 form
Your landlord can use eviction ground 15: nuisance or annoyance.
You must get 2 weeks' notice before they can apply to the tribunal for an eviction order. You do not have to move out by the date on your eviction notice.
This ground can only be used if you or someone living with you has either:
caused nuisance or annoyed your neighbours
been convicted of using the property for illegal purposes, such as dealing drugs
If you get a section 33 notice
Your landlord can only use this if you have a short assured tenancy.
They must give you at least 2 months notice before they can apply to the tribunal for an eviction order.
They do not need to use an eviction ground with a section 33 notice.
Check our guidance on eviction from an assured or short assured tenancy.
Getting legal advice and representation
As soon as you get an eviction letter, get legal advice from a solicitor. Ask them to represent you.
A solicitor can:
explain your rights
respond to court or tribunal letters
negotiate with your landlord
make a case to stop the eviction
Find a solicitor on the Law Society of Scotland.
Check our advice on getting legal help for free or at a lower cost.
Some advice agencies can represent you or refer you for legal representation. You could:
What to tell the court or tribunal
If you cannot get legal representation, you should still go to the hearing. Explain your circumstances and ask the court or tribunal not to evict you.
Tell them what steps you’ll take to stop the behaviour.
Explain if your behaviour is a direct result of your disability or medical condition. The court or tribunal must take this into account. Provide medical evidence such as a letter from your GP.
Tell the court if the council or housing association did not follow their antisocial behaviour policy.
Check our advice on:
going to court if you’re being evicted by the council or housing association
going to tribunal if you’re being evicted by a private landlord
Check your housing options
If you get an eviction notice, it's important to look into your housing options from an early stage. You can try:
If you’re accused of antisocial behaviour, you can be temporarily suspended from social housing lists. This means you will not be offered a home until the suspension is lifted.
Check what the council or housing association’s allocation policy says about suspensions when you apply.
Getting homeless help
If an eviction order has been granted and you no longer have the right to stay in your home, you're legally homeless. This is even if you can stay with family or friends. You do not have to be living on the streets to be homeless.
Check our advice on making a homeless application.
If you’re not a British or Irish citizen, your rights to homeless help could be different. Check our advice on how your immigration status affects your housing options.
Do not move out if you have nowhere else to go. If you leave before an eviction order has been granted, it could be harder to get homeless help from the council.
If the council says you're intentionally homeless
This means they think you became homeless because of your own actions.
The council must still take a homeless application and give you temporary accommodation while they look into your situation.
They should take all the circumstances into account. You should not be found intentionally homeless if you were evicted for reasons outside of your control.
Tell the council why you could not avoid being evicted, and any steps you took to deal with the issue. Show them proof if you can. For example, medical letters that explain your behaviour was caused by a disability.
Even if the council gives you an intentionally homeless decision, they must:
offer you advice and practical help with your housing options
give you a reasonable amount of time to find another home before they ask you to leave temporary accommodation
You can appeal an intentionally homeless decision if you think it's wrong.
Check our advice on getting an intentionally homeless decision.
Last updated: 17 February 2025
Housing laws differ between Scotland and England.
This content applies to Scotland only.