Renters who are served with an eviction notice should ensure it is valid before making any plans to leave.

That's according to Threshold CEO John-Mark McCafferty, who said people need to be aware of their rights.

Mr McCafferty told Newstalk Breakfast rental rights can be complicated.

"Many, many renters across the country don't realise that they have rights to protect them," he said.

"Those rights can be quite complicated; within the Residential Tenancies Act, it's quite complex, and I think we're at pains in Threshold to say that we exist to advise tenants, to protect tenancies and to prevent homelessness.

"The first weekend that the eviction ban comes to an end, what we're also really keen on getting across is the fact that, just because a renter and their family receive a notice of termination, it doesn't necessarily mean that that notice of termination is valid and that they have to vacate on that date that is given.

"Those notices need to be checked".

'Almost 60% are invalid'

Mr McCafferty said they are dealing with over 4,000 cases in relation to terminations.

"Over 50% - almost 60% - of those cases we have, the notice is invalid," he said.

"So, the majority of the notices are actually invalid.

"So it's really important that renters check with ourselves and the Residential Tenancies Board about the validity of those notices before they assume it's a fait accompli and make plans to vacate the property".

Even with a valid notice, tenants could be entitled to more time, Mr McCafferty said.

"Often the notice period might not be sufficient," he said.

"If someone's in a tenancy for, say, 10 years they will be eligible for so many months of a notice period.

"It's really important, especially now given how little housing supply there is, that the private renters have access and are entitled to the notice period that relates to the length they've spent in their tenancy," he added.

Listen back to the full interview below: