I often meet people who tell me about the problems they have as tenants in privately owned properties.

Recently, Lyn came to my advice surgery to talk about the difficulties of living in a poorly maintained property.  She had moved in during the Autumn of 2012, but by Christmas, had buckets around the flat to catch the rain from leaks in the roof.

She spent a year asking her landlord to carry out works, but nothing happened.  Finally, this January, Lyn reported him to the local Council.

His response: serving Lyn a notice to quit her home.

After the first six months of a tenancy, a landlord can evict his or her tenant without having to give any reason for doing so.