Contact the council as soon as your landlord threatens to evict you.

Your council should help. They can:

• speak to your landlord about your rights

• prosecute your landlord if you are illegally evicted 

It may take a while to get through to the right council team. Keep trying.

When you get through, ask who to call if your landlord turns up at the property.

Find out how to get help from the council when facing illegal eviction.

Speak to a renters union

Renters unions are community organisations that help defend your housing rights.

A renters union might help you:

• negotiate with your landlord 

• get support from the council

• resist an illegal eviction

Find out more about renters unions and how you can contact them.

Get legal advice

Get legal advice as soon as you can. You can sometimes get it for free, for example if you get benefits or have a low income.

Agree who to contact if your landlord turns up

It can help to have someone with you if your landlord turns up.

They could help you speak to your landlord or offer emotional support. Think about who to contact. 

It could be:

• someone at the council

• a friend or family member

• someone at a renters union

Keep records

Records can be used as evidence against your landlord.

Save any messages or emails that you and your landlord send to each other.

Write down anything they do that could count as harassment.

Find out more about how to keep a record of harassment. 

Change the locks yourself 

You can change the locks if you feel unsafe.

Keep the old locks so you can put them back at the end of your tenancy. 

If you have a separate agreement for a bedroom in a shared house, you can only change the lock on your bedroom door.

Write to your landlord

Tell your landlord in writing that illegal eviction is a criminal offence.

Copy this template into an email to your landlord.

You can also send the letter as an email attachment or by post:

• Word template: Illegal eviction is a criminal offence (docx 17kb)

• OpenDocument template: Illegal eviction is a criminal offence (odt 11kb)

Put this notice on your door

If you’re worried your landlord might change the locks while you are out, you could put a notice on your door.

Decide whether to call the police

You can report threats of illegal eviction to the police. This means there will already be a record if things get worse.

The police sometimes do not understand the law on illegal eviction so they may tell you it’s a civil matter.

Find out what you can expect from the police so you can decide if you want to call them.