Free Legal Information for Belfast — NI's Own Law, Any Hour.

I've been arrested by the PSNI in Belfast — what are my rights?

Free legal advice at the police station — ask for a solicitor immediately and wait for the advice before answering interview questions. You're entitled to have someone told where you are. NI's caution regime, like England's, means both silence and unguarded answers carry risk — which is exactly why the free solicitor matters. Standard pre-charge detention runs 24 hours, extendable for serious offences; the Public Prosecution Service then decides charges. If it goes to court, that's Laganside on Oxford Street. Our NI criminal guide covers interview, bail, court and criminal records.

My Belfast landlord has served a notice to quit — what are my rights?

NI's own rules apply — not England's. No-fault eviction survives here, but the notice must meet NI's length table, which rises with how long you've rented (longer tenancies command months, not weeks), and the landlord must be registered with deposits protected. If the notice expires and you stay, the landlord needs a court order — self-help eviction is unlawful. Staged commencements decide which notice lengths are in force, so have any notice checked against the current table before acting: Housing Rights and our NI housing guide carry the detail.

How do I bring a workplace claim in Belfast?

Through NI's own machinery: conciliation with the Labour Relations Agency first (03300 555 300), then — if unresolved — a claim to the industrial tribunals at Killymeal House, 2 Cromac Quay (the Fair Employment Tribunal for religious or political discrimination, a protection unique to NI). Time limits are short: generally three months. NI keeps the 52-week unfair-dismissal service threshold — GB's 2027 cut to six months does not apply here — and Belfast's own Agnew ruling lets holiday-pay claims reach back uncapped. Our NI employment guide has the full picture.

Where do divorce and family cases go in Belfast?

Family proceedings run through Laganside — including the Family Care Centre — with matrimonial business also at the Royal Courts of Justice on Chichester Street. The law is NI's own: divorce still requires facts (adultery, behaviour, or separation periods — two years with consent, five without), because GB's no-fault reform never applied here. Financial and children's arrangements follow NI's own statutes through NI's own courts. Anything you've read about "UK divorce" written for England likely misstates your position — our NI family guide states what's actually in force.

What free legal help actually operates in Belfast?

A compact, capable network: the police-station solicitor on arrest, Law Centre NI at Arthur Place (social security, employment, immigration — 028 9024 4401), Housing Rights for anything tenancy or homelessness, Advice Space across multiple city locations (0300 123 3233), Advice NI's member centres, the Labour Relations Agency for workplace disputes, and industrial tribunals carry no issue fee. NI's civil legal aid also survives more broadly than England's, through the Legal Services Agency. Our line — free, 24/7 — routes you to the right one first time.

Is a small claim in Belfast the same as in England?

Same idea, different machinery and limit. NI small claims run to £5,000 (England's track reaches £10,000) through the Small Claims Civil Processing Centre at 45 Oxford Street — a largely paper-based process designed for people without lawyers. Most debts carry six-year limitation, as in England. The sharp difference comes after judgment: enforcement goes through NI's Enforcement of Judgments Office, a centralised system unique in the UK, rather than court bailiffs. Our NI civil guide covers claiming, defending and enforcement end to end.