Challenging illegal eviction

This content applies to England only.

Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. Get advice relating to Scotland

If your landlord is harassing you or you've been illegally evicted, your local council's tenancy relations officer may be able to help you deal with your landlord. You may need advice to help deal with an illegal eviction.

Tenancy relations officers

If your landlord is harassing you or if you have been illegally evicted, you could contact your council's tenancy relations officer for help. In some areas where the council does not have a specialist officer to help you, the housing advice team should be able to help you instead.

Sometimes, the council's tenancy relations officer may be able to help you re-enter your home.

Council negotiations with a landlord

Reporting any incidents of harassment to the council will ensure there is an official record of what has been happening. The council may contact your landlord to explain landlord responsibilities and your rights. The council may be able to mediate between you and your landlord to try and sort the problem out.

If you have been illegally evicted from your home, the council may contact your landlord and try to negotiate a way for you to return to your home.

If your landlord is the local council, you will not be able to get help from the tenancy relations officer or the council's housing advice centre. You should contact Citizens Advice, a Shelter advice centre or a solicitor instead. Use our advice services directory to find an adviser.

Prosecuting landlords for harassment or illegal eviction

Although harassment and illegal eviction are both criminal offences, it is usually the council (rather than the police) who decide whether to prosecute a landlord.

Although councils do take landlords to court, it is quite rare. It is more likely to happen if harassment has been very serious or if you were evicted from a regulated or assured tenancy or other situation where you had strong tenancy rights. In some cases, a council might prosecute a landlord they know has often behaved in this way with different tenants.

The council will need good evidence to succeed in a prosecution. This will include detailed statements from you and anyone else who has witnessed the harassment or illegal eviction.

If the council decides to prosecute your landlord, they will bring criminal charges. Your landlord will be taken to court. If found guilty, your landlord may be fined by the court or - in very serious cases - given a prison sentence.

The council can also ask the court to award you compensation. The compensation will be to cover any costs you have had to pay, such as rent for emergency accommodation or the cost of replacing your belongings. If you want to claim damages for stress or inconvenience or because your landlord has broken your contract, you will need to bring a separate civil action in court.

Extra protection for houses in multiple occupation (HMO)

If you live in a bedsit, a house or flat shared by several households, a hostel or a bed and breakfast hotel, there are extra laws that can protect you, in addition to the general laws on harassment and illegal eviction. Properties where a number of people live together like this are called houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

If you live in an HMO and your health, safety or welfare is at risk because of inadequate management, bad conditions, overcrowding or harassment, the council has the power to take action against the landlord. In very serious circumstances, the council can take over management of the property from your landlord.

If you live in an HMO and are experiencing harassment, get advice from a Shelter advice centre, citizens advice bureau (CAB) or similar advice agency, or a solicitor:

Getting back into the property following illegal eviction

If you have been illegally evicted, you may have the right to re-enter your home, even if your landlord has changed the locks. A tenancy relations officer at your local council may be able to help you to re-enter your home. If your landlord has not rented your home out to someone else, you may be able to get a court to order your landlord to let you back into your home.

If you cannot access help from the council, it is vital that you are certain that you have the right to re-enter your home before you take any action yourself - otherwise you might be committing a criminal offence. This is a complicated area of law. Make sure you get advice before you take any action:

If you are certain that you have been illegally evicted and have the right to re-enter the property, be very careful not to damage the building. If you break or damage any part of the property (such as the door), you could be responsible for the repairs and you could be committing criminal damage. If you change the lock, you should keep the old lock and any keys and return them to the landlord.

In some cases the police may be willing to attend while you re-enter your home to ensure that there is no breach of the peace.

Getting your belongings back after illegal eviction

If your landlord has illegally evicted you and your belongings are still in your home, you have a right to get them back. This applies even if you have rent arrears.

If your landlord keeps hold of your belongings and refuses to return them to you, this is an offence known as conversion and you may be able to take your landlord to court. You may be able to get an injunction and/or claim damages.

Homeless following an illegal evicition

Councils have a legal duty to help some people who are homeless, have nowhere to stay and are in priority need. In some situations, you may be entitled to short term temporary accommodation and possibly longer term help too. Use our emergency housing rights checker to find out what help you might be entitled to.

Complaining to the local government ombudsman

If you don't feel that the council has treated you as it should, you can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman. The ombudsman will investigate your complaint and can recommend that the council apologises and changes its procedures to avoid similar problems in the future. The ombudsman can also recommend that councils pay a small amount of compensation if this is appropriate.

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