Landlords can be councils, housing associations or private individuals, and the amount of latitude you can expect if you go into arrears will which type of  landlord you have and on which type of tenancy you have on the case of a private landlord.

With any landlord, if you fail to keep up rent payments, the landlord will eventually obtain an order for eviction from the county court which specifies the date by which you must leave the property. If you do not do so by this date, the landlord can apply to the court to have you and your belongings forcibly ejected by bailiffs.

If you are evicted from a property belonging to either a private landlord or a local authority, you could well find it difficult to obtain replacement accommodation. Without a reference, private landlords are often reluctant to consider potential tenants, and in any case, word will often get around locally and your only options (assuming you can afford them) might be either to move out of the area, or into lodgings or B&B. In the case of an ex-council tenant, the council is under no obligation to re-house someone who has been evicted, and the situation could become very dire indeed.

Because of these factors, eviction, particularly from a council property is one of the worst sanctions which can be applied. Not only is there a strong possibility that an evicted tenant will be unable to find a new home, but because they cannot get a job, communicate, or even claim benefits without an address, there is practically nothing left to prevent such an unfortunate from sinking rapidly to the bottom stratum of society - the ‘homeless’.

Being ‘of no fixed abode’ is a status from which recovery is usually possible only if youth, initiative and determination are on one’s side, and for this reason is to be avoided by any and every means possible.