Evicting tenants in England
Harassment and illegal evictions
It’s a crime to harass or try to force your tenant out of a property without following correct procedures. Your tenant might have the right to claim damages or seek a rent repayment order if you do not follow the rules.
You may be prosecuted or given a fine of up to £40,000 if you harass or illegally evict your tenant.
Harassment
Harassment can be anything you do or fail to do that makes your tenant feel unsafe in the property or forces them to leave.
Harassment can include:
- stopping services, like electricity
- withholding keys, for example if there are 2 tenants in a property but you only give 1 key
- refusing to carry out repairs
- anti-social behaviour by someone on your behalf, for example, your friend moves in next door to your tenant and causes problems
- threats and physical violence
- threatening to change the locks
- opening or taking post
- stopping access to temperature control
Illegal eviction
If you want to evict your tenant, you must follow the correct procedure.
You may be guilty of illegal eviction if you:
- do not give your tenant the right legal notice to leave your property
- evict your tenant without a ‘warrant’ or ‘writ for possession’ from the court
- use someone other than a court appointed bailiff to evict your tenant
- change the locks