My landlord wants me out.pdf

‘My landlord wants me out’

protection against harassment and illegal eviction

housing

This booklet does not provide an authoritative

interpretation of the law; only the courts can do that. Nor

does it cover every case. If you are in doubt about your

legal rights or obligations you would be well advised to

seek information from a Citizens Advice Bureau, your

local authority’s housing advice service or a law centre, or

to consult a solicitor. Help with all or part of the cost of

legal advice may be available under the Legal Aid Scheme.

Contents

The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 2

What is harassment? 3

Where should I go for advice? 4

Is this harassment? 5

Withdrawal of services 5

Withholding keys 5

Anti-social behaviour by landlord’s agent 6

Demand for excessive repairs 6

Failure to carry out repairs 7

Repairs which are not completed 9

Threats and physical violence 10

Illegal eviction 10

What is illegal eviction? 10

Do all occupiers need a court order to evict them? 11

Is it a licence or a tenancy?

What sort of tenancy is it?

Can the landlord end the tenancy by refusing to

accept the rent?

Can a tenant be compensated for having been

harassed or illegally evicted?

If the tenant does not want to go to court

Further Information

‘My landlord wants me out’

The law protects people living in residential property

against harassment and illegal eviction. It does this in two

ways: by making harassment and illegal eviction a criminal

offence, and by enabling someone who is harassed or

illegally evicted to claim damages through the civil court.

This booklet describes some of the forms harassment may

take and sets out what people can do if they are being

harassed or are threatened with illegal eviction. It does

not deal with harassment of landlords by their tenants,

which is covered to a limited extent in a separate booklet,

Letting Rooms in Your Home . Throughout this booklet,

(with some exceptions), the terms ‘landlord’ and ‘tenant’

are used. However, the law against harassment applies to

all people living in residential property; it applies to them

whether they have tenancies or licences, and it applies to

the acts of anybody acting on behalf of a landlord and, in

some cases, to people who may or may not be connected

with a landlord.

The Protection from Eviction Act 1977

The law makes it an offence to:

• do acts likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of

a tenant or anyone living with him or her; or

• 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 described above

intending, knowing, or having reasonable cause to

believe, that they would cause the tenant to leave their

home, or stop using part of it, or stop doing the things a

tenant should normally expect to be able to do. It is also

an offence to take someone’s home away from him or

her unlawfully.

The precise offences are set out in the Protection from

Eviction Act 1977, which has been made stronger by the

Housing Act 1988.

A person who is convicted by magistrates of an offence

under the Act may have to pay a maximum fine of

£5,000*, 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, or a fine, or both.

What is harassment?

This booklet deals only with harassment of people whom

somebody is trying to drive out of their homes. Even in

this context, harassment is a very broad term, used loosely

to cover a wide range of activities. It can take many forms

short of physical violence. It may not always be obvious to

outsiders that particular sorts of activity are intended to

drive the tenant from the property. On the other hand

there may be cases where a landlord has good reasons for

doing things which could be interpreted as harassment.

There are defences in the Protection from Eviction and the

Housing Acts for landlords who have good reason for

acting in a particular way, or for thinking that the tenant

had left the property.

* At time of going to press

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