Illegal Eviction

The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 criminalises unlawful eviction (s.1(2)) and harassment (s.1(3)). To lawfully evict, a landlord must serve a valid notice (since 1 May 2026, a Section 8 notice relying on a statutory ground, Section 21 having been abolished), obtain a possession order from the County Court, and have bailiffs (or High Court Enforcement Officers) execute the order. Changing locks, removing tenant's belongings, cutting utilities, or threats to make the tenant leave are all unlawful. Civil remedies include damages under HA 1988 ss.27-28 (the 'difference in value' formula), Rent Repayment Orders, injunctions, and Criminal Behaviour Orders for serial offenders.

In practice, illegal eviction rarely announces itself. It usually starts as pressure: the locks are changed while you are at work, the landlord moves someone into a spare room, the electricity is cut off, or you come home to find your belongings on the pavement. All of those are criminal acts if you are a residential occupier, and none of them become lawful because you owe rent or because the fixed term has ended.

Worked example: Kofi returns from a shift to find the lock changed and a note saying he has been evicted for arrears. He does not force entry or retaliate. He rings the police, explaining that this is an offence under section 1 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 and asking for an incident number. He then contacts his council's tenancy relations or housing options team, which has the power to prosecute and will often intervene the same day. In parallel a housing solicitor applies for an emergency injunction requiring the landlord to let him back in, usually obtainable within 24 to 48 hours and often available on legal aid regardless of the merits of the arrears dispute.

The misconceptions cut both ways. Tenants often assume the police will treat it as a civil matter — the correct response is to point to the criminal offence and ask for the tenancy relations officer. Landlords often assume that a tenant who has stopped paying, or whose notice has expired, has no protection; they still need a court order and county court bailiffs. There are genuine exceptions: lodgers who share living accommodation with their landlord, and some holiday and licence arrangements, are excluded occupiers with far less protection, which is why the label on the agreement matters less than how the household actually lives.

Illegal eviction is prohibited by the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 and can support a rent repayment order as well as damages. Read our guides to illegal eviction enforcement and landlord harassment, and get emergency advice the same day rather than looking for somewhere else to stay.