You will have to give four weeks notice in writing if you rent your home from a local council, or housing association. If you leave before, or during this notice period you will still need to pay the rent. 

Housing Benefit and the housing element of Universal Credit will not be paid on a property that you are not living in, so to avoid getting into debt, make sure you plan your move in advance.

Once you submit your notice, it is unlikely that you will be able to withdraw it.

If you are a joint tenant and you submit a notice it will apply to both tenants. There may be other options if you want to leave your home such as removing your name from the tenancy instead of handing in notice.

To remove your name from a tenancy, you will need to ask the housing association, or council that owns the property. If both tenants agree, they may allow one person to remove their name, This is called an 'assignment of the tenancy' and is generally permitted if:

• The person remaining in the tenancy can afford the rent
• There are no rent arrears on the account
• The property is suitable for the remaining tenant to remain in

You should only apply to assign the tenancy if you have another suitable property to move into. If you surrender your rights to your home and present as homeless to the local council, this is likely to affect the final homeless decision.