Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s 55
Your landlord can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for an order ending your tenancy (a “termination order”) if you’re three weeks (21 days) or more behind in the rent.
But if you pay the overdue amount by the time the Tribunal comes to make its decision, the Tribunal won’t end the tenancy, so long as it’s satisfied you probably won’t fall behind in the rent again.
If you haven’t paid the overdue amount when the Tribunal comes to make a decision, it can still decide to give you a chance to pay. Here it makes what’s called a “conditional order”, which gives you a set time to pay the overdue amount. It can only do this if it’s satisfied that you’ll pay the overdue rent by the set date and that it’s unlikely you’ll fall behind again. If you don’t pay the overdue rent on time, the tenancy automatically comes to an end without the landlord having to go back to the Tribunal for another order.
A landlord can also apply to the Tribunal for a termination order if you’ve done substantial damage or allowed someone else to do this, or if you’ve threatened to cause substantial damage. The Tribunal will end the tenancy unless it’s satisfied that you’ve fixed any damage and that it’s unlikely the problem will happen again.
The landlord can also apply for a termination order if you’ve assaulted or threatened them, or one of their family, or their agent or a neighbour.