Private landlords sometimes put pressure on tenants to leave their properties, or may even use physical force. However, most residential occupiers have legal rights to protect them against harassment and illegal eviction.
A residential occupier has the right to live in a property because a contract allows them to do so, or because the law says that they can continue to stay there.
Harassment and illegal eviction is a criminal and civil offence.
Who is covered?
Section 1 of the Act covers all ‘residential occupiers`. That is someone who lives in accommodation where there is a rule in law restricting the right of another person to recover possession. This means that most tenants and members of their household are protected whilst they remain in occupation. Only those tenants known as `excluded tenants’ are excluded from protection but they still require to be given reasonable notice. These are generally tenants who share living accommodation with their landlord and have come to the end of their fixed term.
What is illegal eviction?
Illegal (or unlawful) eviction occurs when a residential occupier is unlawfully deprived of all or part of their residence. This covers any tenant who has been evicted whilst their contract is still in force or before the relevant procedure for eviction has been complete (e.g. a court order for possession has come into force but see section 10 on ending a tenancy). The eviction could be by force or changing the locks whilst the tenant is out. Blocking access to a part of the accommodation, which the tenant has a right to occupy, would also constitute an illegal eviction. This offence can be committed by anyone and not just the landlord or his agent.
Is there any defence the landlord can use?
A person cannot be found guilty if they can show that there was reasonable cause to believe that the tenant had stopped living at the premises.
What is harassment?
The law makes it an offence to:
Do acts likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of a tenant or anyone living with them
Persistently withdraw or withhold services for which the tenant has a reasonable need to live in the premises as a home
It is an offence to do any of the things listed above intending, knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that they would cause the tenant to leave their home or stop doing the things a tenant should normally expect to be able to do.
We have the power to start legal proceedings for offences of harassment and illegal eviction. We can carry out an investigation and prosecute if we believe an offence has been carried out.
A person who is convicted by magistrates of an offence may have to pay a maximum fine of £5000 or be sent to prison for six months or both. If the case goes to the Crown Court the punishment can be prison for up to two years plus an unlimited fine.
Contact us
Contact our landlord and tenant mediation officer for more advice about harassment and illegal eviction.
Telephone: 020 8583 3828