The act aims to protect tenants from being ejected from their homes by landlords unless a court order exists.

These are primarily when a landlord resides in the same property as the tenant, or the accommodation falls within the definition of a hostel or hotel.

Section 5 states that everyone classified as having a lease or a licence, must be given four weeks' notice before they are evicted.

The license should state the minimum period in cases of breach, but this is commonly only 7 days notice by the licensor.. Police have frequently failed to intervene when tenants were forceably removed from their homes without a court order or when tenants' property was removed from their homes and locks changed without a court order.

Shelter maintain that in 2016 nearly 50,000 tenants had their belongings removed, and the locks changed by landlords.