Section 11 of Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Act 2022
This guidance has been produced to clarify the notice to quit periods that a private landlord and private tenant must provide.
Section 11 - Notices to Quit Periods for Landlord and Tenants
Current notice periods
The length of notice to quit that landlords and tenants are required to give are set out in the tables below. These notice periods applied from 5 May 2022.
Depending on the length of the tenancy, the landlord must give their tenant a minimum notice to quit period shown in the table below.
| Length of tenancy | Notice to quit |
|---|---|
| Tenancy not been in existence for more than 12 months | No less than 4 weeks' written notice |
| Tenancy has been in existence for more than 12 months but not more than 10 years | No less than 8 weeks' written notice |
| Tenancy has been in existence for more than 10 years | No less than 12 weeks' written notice |
Depending on the length of the tenancy the tenant must give their landlord a minimum notice to quit period.
| Length of tenancy | Notice to quit |
|---|---|
| Tenancy not been in existence for more than 10 years | No less than 4 weeks' written notice |
| Tenancy has been in existence for more than 10 years | No less than 12 weeks' written notice |
The Private Tenancies Act (NI) 2022 provides for much longer notice to quit periods that a landlord must give a tenant. However, the Act stipulates that these longer notice periods can only come into effect when the Department has introduced regulations on certain circumstances where these longer notices periods would not apply. This is because without this the legislation would be susceptible to challenges under Article 1 Protocol 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (interference with control of use of the property).
The Department is working with Departmental Solicitors Office to finalise instructions. Work on a robust Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) is ongoing to inform the drafting of regulations with consultation on both due in the coming months.