Winter eviction ban: what a landlord can do from November to March
The winter eviction ban means that from 1 November to 31 March inclusive, judgments ordering a tenant to vacate the premises are not enforced if the evicted person has not been assigned premises to be rehoused in. The protection period in the 2024/2025 season started on 1 November 2024 and lasted until 31 March 2025. The tenant has not paid since the summer, the judgment has already been issued, and everyone around keeps saying that nothing can be done until spring? That is only part of the truth. Only the enforcement of the ruling is paused. Not everything the landlord can do.
What is the winter eviction ban and where does it come from?
The provision pauses the enforcement of an eviction judgment between 1 November and 31 March when the evicted person has not been assigned premises to be rehoused in. The basis is Article 16 of the act, whose wording you will find in the consolidated text of the Tenants’ Rights Protection Act. And here comes the first misunderstanding: the protection period does not cancel the eviction. It postpones it, nothing more. The ruling remains valid and the bailiff will come back to it in spring.
It all comes down to the premises. The protection applies when there is no assigned place the occupant can be moved to. And if there is such a place (for example social housing provided by the municipality)? Then eviction between 1 November and 31 March remains possible.
Exceptions to the eviction ban: who is not protected in winter?
Not everyone. The winter protection does not cover the situations listed in Article 17(1) of the same act. Under the tenant protection regulations, the pause does not apply when the reason for vacating the premises is:
- domestic violence,
- gross or persistent breaches of the house rules,
- occupying the premises without legal title.
Rent arrears alone are not among these exclusions. So the typical non-paying tenant does benefit from the protection, whether we like it or not. A different story is a lease concluded in a special form - its rules are described in the post on how occasional lease works in practice. Not sure whether your case falls under one of the exceptions? Leave the assessment to a lawyer, because what matters is the wording of the judgment and the court’s findings.
What does the protection period not pause?
The break applies only to the enforcement of the judgment. Not to court proceedings and not to the obligation to pay. An eviction case can be filed and pursued in winter too, because the court works as usual and the provision only concerns the enforcement stage. The protection period is sometimes taken for a freeze on the whole dispute. That is a mistake.
Charges for using the premises keep accruing and the landlord can claim them regardless of the season. So the person occupying the flat does not gain the right to stay for free. In practice the conclusion is simple: winter is the time to prepare, not to wait.
What can a landlord do from November to March?
Quite a lot, actually. You can pursue the case in court, talk to the tenant, reach an agreement with them and put your paperwork in order. Here is what a landlord can do during the protection period:
- File a claim or continue the case if there is no judgment yet.
- Talk to the occupant about moving out voluntarily before the bailiff comes up again.
- Write down an agreement setting the date for vacating the premises and how the debt will be repaid.
- Pursue overdue payments, including amicably.
- Gather the documents needed in spring: the lease, annexes, handover reports, correspondence.
Talks often achieve more than you would expect. Recovering arrears without court can be realistic when the debtor gets a specific proposal for spreading the repayment, not yet another generic demand for payment. If you manage your rental in Tenanto, the history of communication with the tenant and the documents stored there are ready-made material for the case. Oh, and one thing: show the agreement itself to a lawyer before signing, so that you do not weaken the position the judgment gives you.
What is a landlord not allowed to do, even with a judgment in hand?
A judgment does not entitle you to remove the tenant yourself. It is enforced by the bailiff and only the bailiff. Changing the locks or cutting off utilities is not allowed regardless of the size of the debt (yes, even when the arrears drag on for months), and the right path is shown in the description of how a tenant eviction works step by step.
Putting someone out on the street in winter on your own does not speed anything up. Instead, it exposes the landlord to legal liability. The same goes for carrying out the occupant’s belongings while they are away and making it harder for them to access the flat. And borderline situations, for example when the premises look abandoned? Ask a lawyer first.
How to prepare for the end of the protection period?
There is one goal: to have a complete set of documents and a clear plan for the next steps on 1 April. Over the winter, put the lease, annexes and handover reports in order, keep a written record of every attempt to reach an agreement and settle with your legal representative what will happen after 31 March. Still no judgment? Do not put the claim off until spring.
The winter eviction ban in the 2024/2025 season gave you time until the end of March 2025 - in every following season, use it to talk to the tenant and put the debt documentation in order. And the classic disclaimer: a specific situation, especially how the eviction judgment relates to the protection period in your case, should be assessed by a lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, a claim can be filed at any time of the year. The protection applies to the enforcement of the judgment, not to the court proceedings, which continue unchanged in winter. The sooner you file the case, the better the chance that you will already have a ruling when the protection period ends.
No. Judgments are not enforced only when the evicted person has not been assigned premises to be rehoused in. If such premises have been assigned, vacating the flat is also possible between November and March.
Yes. Pausing the eviction does not release anyone from the charges for using the premises. The debt grows throughout the winter, and the landlord can pursue it while waiting for the judgment to be enforced. That is why you should document every month the flat is occupied.
