Harassment and Illegal Eviction

What is Harassment?

Harassment can include anything done by a landlord, their agent or any other person acting on the owners behalf, which deliberately interferes with and unsettles your home life. Examples of harassment may include:

Threats, abuse or actual violence
Threatening you if you refuse to leave the property
Cutting off or interfering with services (gas, water or electricity supply)
Entering your home without your permission
Changing the locks
Removing your belongings
Constant telephone calls and/or text messages

For further information and advice on the above issues, please contact the Housing Options team using the contact details on the right hand side of the page.

What is Illegal Eviction?

Illegal or unlawful eviction is when a landlord, their agent or any other person acting on the owner's behalf, unlawfully deprives you of all or part of your home or if any person forces you or tries to force you to leave your accommodation without following the correct legal procedure.

The eviction could be by force, by changing locks while you are out or by blocking access to parts of your home. Examples of illegal eviction may be:

changing the locks
moving into part of your home
physically throwing your out
stopping you from using parts of your home

If the landlord wants to legally evict you, they will need to follow the correct legal procedure. The procedure that the landlord will need to follow will depend on the type of tenancy you have. Your landlord will need to give you written notice to leave your tenancy.

If your landlord has asked you to leave, please contact the Housing Options team to seek advice before you leave the property. Our contact details can be found to the right of this page.

Can the landlord end the tenancy by refusing to accept the rent?

The landlords refusal to accept the rent does not bring the tenancy to an end. If the landlord does this, you should:

put the money in a safe place
continue to offer to pay the rent
seek advice from Housing Options, Citizens Advice or a solicitor

For further information and advice on any of the above issues, please contact the Housing Options team.

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