How to deal with illegal eviction

Can your landlord kick you out?

Legally your landlord cannot just turn up and tell you to leave.

Have a plan for what you will do if they do turn up at your door.

Call someone for support

You could call a friend or family member. If you've spoken to a renters union or the council you could call them too.

How to speak to your landlord

Speak calmly and explain that they are breaking the law.

Explain that you are protected by the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 and only court appointed bailiffs can evict you.

Record what happens

You could film your landlord to use as evidence later on. If you do not want to film, note down what happened.

Keep yourself safe

If the situation becomes violent or you feel unsafe, it could be better to leave and come back.

If you do this your landlord might change the locks while you're away.

You can use reasonable force such as changing the locks or breaking a window to get back into your home, but do it quickly. You may have to pay for the repairs if you cause damage.

You could call the police

The police often get the law on illegal eviction wrong. They might say it’s just a civil matter.

The police should step in and help you if an illegal eviction is happening. But sometimes they only attend if there is a risk of violence.

They could:

warn or arrest the landlord
persuade the landlord to let you back in
report the illegal eviction to the council

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

If you do call, make sure you take down the ID numbers of the officers attending.

Use our template

If the police say it is a civil matter, show or email them this information:

SHELTER'S ADVICE FOR POLICE OFFICERS ATTENDING AN ILLEGAL EVICTION

Most tenants can only be evicted lawfully by an order of the court.

An eviction must be overseen by a county court bailiff or a high court enforcement officer.

If there is no court officer present, it is most likely an illegal eviction.

The landlord must apply to court to evict this tenant lawfully.

WHAT POLICE OFFICERS CAN DO

WARN the landlord or agent that they may well be committing a criminal offence and should leave.
PERSUADE the landlord to let the tenant back in, change the locks back or give the tenant a key.
GATHER EVIDENCE that may be relevant to a criminal offence. This could include assault, breach of the peace, or harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
ARREST THE LANDLORD OR AGENT under section 24(1), Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 if they are committing or about to commit an offence. This would include trying to get into the premises against the wishes of the tenant.
REPORT THE LANDORD TO THE COUNCIL - Use the London Assembly website if in a London borough. Outside of London you should contact a tenancy relations officer or the private sector housing team.
CONTACT THE COUNCIL'S HOMELESS TEAM - If you cannot help the tenant to access their home, the homeless team may have a legal duty to provide emergency housing for some tenants. All councils have an out of hours team if it's after 5pm.

THE LAW

All residential occupiers are protected from harassment and illegal eviction.

Under section 1 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, it's a criminal offence to:

deliberately and unlawfully deprive the occupier of their occupation of the property
carry out acts intended to cause the occupier to give up the property or their rights under the tenancy

Criminal offences are prosecuted by the local authority.

Lodgers are not entitled to a court order before eviction. The landlord must have lived in the property and shared living space with the occupier throughout the agreement.

Squatters are not entitled to a court order before eviction. But an occupier is only a squatter if they entered the property knowing they were trespassing. This is rare.

A tenant without a written tenancy agreement or whose fixed term agreement has ended is still a tenant and can only be evicted lawfully by bailiffs.

You can download and save a copy for your reference: