Harassment and illegal eviction

Private landlords sometimes put great pressure on tenants to leave their properties, or may even use physical force. However, most residential occupiers have legal rights to protect them against harassment and illegal eviction, the law says that they can continue to stay there.  Anyone convicted of harassment or illegal eviction could face a prison sentence of up to two years and/or an unlimited fine.

A residential occupier has the right to live in a property because a contract allows them to do so, or because the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 (amended by Housing Act 1988) makes it a criminal offence to harass or unlawfully evict a residential occupier.