Q.  I contacted my tenant (a single mother with a young son) a couple of months ago and told her that I needed the property back to live in myself at the end of the fixed term in two months’ time. She promised to be out by that time so I did nothing.  

I am due to move back in a couple of weeks’ time but she has now told me that she has applied for re-housing to the Local Authority and they have told her to stay put. She is now refusing to talk to me about it at all. What can I do?

A. This is a very common situation. Local Authorities have a duty to re-house persons deemed to be in ‘priority need’ and this will include families with young children who are faced with eviction.