The law protects people living in residential property against harassment and illegal eviction. It does this in two ways:
- by making harassment and illegal eviction a criminal offence, and
- by enabling someone who is harassed or illegally evicted to claim damages through the civil court.
This law covering this is the Protection of Eviction Act 1977
What is harassment?
Harassment is where your landlord, or someone else, deliberately makes life difficult for you to try to make you leave your home. Some examples are:
- cutting off your water, gas or electricity;
- using threatening behaviour to make you leave;
- trying to make you sign an agreement that takes away your legal rights;
- interfering with your possessions;
- moving into part of your home.
What is illegal eviction?
This is when someone forces you to leave your home illegally. This could be done by:
- physically throwing you out of your house;
- changing your door locks;
- stopping you from getting into part of your home.
Lawful eviction
A landlord can evict you lawfully depending on what sort of tenancy you have and what your rights are to stay in your home. Normally, if you pay rent for a house, flat or bedsit and you do not share your accommodation with a resident landlord, the landlord will have to give you written notice and the apply to the Court for a possession order before you can be evicted. If you live in a hostel or bed and breakfast hotel then you will usually have much fewer rights.
What can you do?
Keep a careful diary of everything that happens so that you can give St Edmundsbury Borough Council's Environmental Health team details. This includes:
- any threats made against you or any other incident including the date and time;
- the names and addresses of any people involved, especially witnesses, including the Police;
- if you need medical treatment, write down the names of the doctors who examined you.
How can St Edmundbury Borough Council help?
First of all, St Edmundsbury Borough Council can give you advice about your legal rights. We can contact your landlord and use persuasion and warnings to stop him/her behaving unlawfully.
If your landlord continues then we will consider prosecuting him/her. You may also wish to contact a local solicitor, who will help you apply to the County Court for an injunction to stop your landlord harassing or evicting you.
For further information please contact Environmental Health on (01284) 757053 or e-mail Env.Health@stedsbc.gov.uk
What can the Police do?
You should always tell the Police if you have been harassed or illegally evicted. This is particularly important if you have been threatened or assaulted or if your property has been damaged or stolen.
