I am pregnant and a tenant - can I be evicted?
Can your landlord evict you because you are pregnant, have given birth or have children?
NO. Landlords cannot evict you just because your are pregnant, have given birth or have children.
Pregnancy, childbirth and having children are protected characteristics in law.
HOWEVER, a landlord can evict you for lawful reasons
There are lawful reasons a landlord can evict you but will depend on the type of tenancy agreement you have.
See the type of tenancy agreements below and check which is yours.
Types of private tenancy agreements
There are various types of tenancy agreements – Assured, Excluded and Regulated.
Types of Housing Association Tenancies
Starter, Assured and Fixed Term.
Types of Council Housing tenancy agreements
Not all council housing tenancies are the same so check yours.
Once you know your type of tenancy you will know your position in terms of your rights.
You can check your tenancy type here
Preventing discrimination when pregnant and a tenant
A tenancy agreement cannot contain any elements that discriminate against you because of your protected characteristic of being pregnant, giving birth or having children.
If your tenancy agreement does discriminate against you, your landlord cannot refuse to change it unless they have a very strong reason.
What is a lawful eviction
A lawful eviction process depends on the type of tenancy.
See below to check yours.
An option if you owe rent to your landlord
If you owe rent to your landlord you could suggest to him/her that they arrange for your Universal Credit or Housing Benefit be paid directly to the them.
What to do if you are being evicted
Eviction is a legal process that will not happen overnight. Your landlord has to give you prior notice.
You will always get notice and sometimes you can stop an eviction.
You can find out if you landlord has provided you with the correct notice below.
Read more information here about the process and what you can do about it.
If you are homeless now
If you are homeless now read about the immediate help you can get.