Proving Landlord Harassment or Illegal Eviction

Harassment and illegal eviction are not just bad landlord behaviour. Both are criminal offences in England, and both are on the list of offences that let you apply for a Rent Repayment Order. This guide explains what counts, how to prove it, and who to go to.

What the law actually says

Two sections of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 do the work:

• Section 1(2) — unlawful eviction. It is an offence to unlawfully deprive an occupier of their home, or any part of it.
• Section 1(3) and 1(3A) — harassment. It is an offence to do acts likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of an occupier or their household, or to persistently withdraw or withhold services they reasonably require, where the landlord knows or has reasonable cause to believe this will make them leave or stop pursuing their rights.

Separately, section 3 of the same Act means that for most tenancies a landlord must obtain a court order to evict you. Not a letter. Not a notice. A court order, enforced by County Court bailiffs or High Court enforcement officers.

Both offences are listed in section 40 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, which is what makes them grounds for a Rent Repayment Order.

What counts as illegal eviction

• Changing the locks while you are out
• Physically removing you or your belongings
• Refusing to let you back in
• Evicting you without a court order where one is required
• Removing doors or windows, or making the property uninhabitable so that you leave
• Intimidating you into leaving “voluntarily”

It is still illegal eviction even if you owe rent, even if your fixed term has ended, and even if your landlord has served a valid notice. The notice is the beginning of a legal process, not the end of one.

What counts as harassment

• Entering without your permission or proper notice, or letting themselves in repeatedly
• Cutting off or interfering with gas, electricity or water
• Refusing to carry out repairs in order to drive you out
• Threats, abuse, or aggressive or excessive contact at unreasonable hours
• Sending people round to intimidate you
• Opening or withholding your post
• Threatening to report you to immigration or the authorities to make you leave
• Removing furniture or belongings, or allowing the property to become unsafe

A single serious incident can be enough. So can a pattern of smaller ones. The test is whether the conduct was likely to interfere with your peace or comfort, and whether the landlord intended you to leave or to give up a right.

What is not harassment

It is worth being realistic, because the tribunal will be. A landlord is entitled to ask for rent that is genuinely owed, to serve a valid notice, to arrange inspections with proper notice, and to bring possession proceedings. Disagreement, or a landlord you simply do not get on with, is not the same as harassment.

Proving it: what actually persuades a tribunal

Because an RRO requires the tribunal to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt, contemporaneous evidence is worth far more than recollection. Start collecting from today.

1. Keep a dated log

One line per incident: date, time, what happened, who was present, how it affected you. A log written as events happen carries real weight; one reconstructed months later carries much less.

2. Preserve every message

Screenshot texts, WhatsApp messages, emails and voicemails, and back them up somewhere other than your phone. Do not delete anything, including messages that show you in a poor light — gaps in a record are noticed.

3. Photograph and film

Changed locks, removed doors, disconnected services, damage, belongings put outside. Photographs carry timestamps in their metadata, so take them at the time rather than recreating the scene later.

4. Get it in writing from third parties

• The police: if you call them, ask for the incident or CAD reference number.
• The council: report it to the private-sector housing team and keep the case reference. Their file may later be disclosed.
• Utility suppliers: ask for written confirmation of any disconnection and who requested it.
• Witnesses: housemates, neighbours or friends who saw or heard what happened. A short signed and dated statement while memories are fresh is ideal.

5. Put your objection in writing

A calm, factual letter or email to your landlord setting out what happened, on what dates, and asking them to stop does two useful things: it may end the behaviour, and it creates a dated record that they were told. Keep a copy and send it in a way you can prove.

6. Keep proof of your tenancy and your rent

Your tenancy agreement, and bank statements or a rent book covering every payment. An RRO is a repayment of rent, so you must be able to prove what you paid and to whom.

What you can get

• A Rent Repayment Order — up to 2 years’ rent for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026 (12 months’ rent, and a 12-month deadline, for earlier offences), through the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
• An injunction — a County Court order requiring your landlord to let you back in or to stop the harassment. This can be obtained urgently.
• Damages — sections 27 and 28 of the Housing Act 1988 allow damages for unlawful eviction, which can be substantial because they are measured by the landlord’s gain.
• Prosecution — brought by the local authority. You are a witness rather than the claimant, and any fine goes to the court, not to you. A conviction does, however, oblige the tribunal to award the maximum RRO.

These are not alternatives. An RRO can run alongside a council prosecution and a civil claim.

Where to get help

• Your council’s Tenancy Relations Officer — the single most useful first call in an illegal eviction. Free, and they have enforcement powers.
• Shelter — free housing advice, including an emergency helpline.
• Citizens Advice — free, independent advice on your rights and next steps.
• Law Centres and legal aid providers — legal aid remains available for illegal eviction and for serious disrepair posing a risk to health, subject to means.
• The police — where there is violence, a threat of violence, or a breach of the peace.

If this has happened to you

Illegal eviction and harassment claims turn on evidence and on dates. If your landlord also failed to license the property, you may have two separate grounds for a Rent Repayment Order — and the licensing ground is often the easier of the two to prove on paper.

Tell us the dates and the address and we will check the licensing position and assess your claim. There is no cost for that, and no obligation.

This article is general information about the law in England and is not legal advice about your own circumstances. It refers to the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, the Housing Act 1988, the Housing Act 2004, the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 as they stood at the date of publication. The rules differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.