Locked out, threatened with eviction or forced from your home without the required legal process? Knights & Shah Solicitors advises tenants on unlawful eviction, urgent injunctions, restoring access to their home and claims for compensation.
Unlawful eviction can arise where a landlord, letting agent or another person unlawfully deprives a residential occupier of their home or attempts to force them to leave without following the legal process that applies to their occupation.
Examples can include changing the locks, physically excluding an occupier, removing belongings, cutting off essential services or using threats or harassment to force someone from their home. Illegal eviction and harassment can carry serious civil and criminal consequences.
The correct legal position depends on the occupier’s status. Different rules can apply to assured tenants, social tenants, licensees and certain excluded occupiers such as some lodgers. Establishing the nature of the occupation is therefore an important first step before determining whether an eviction was unlawful and what remedy may be available.
Knights & Shah Solicitors advises on threatened and completed unlawful evictions, urgent injunctions, restoration of occupation, harassment, compensation claims and related housing litigation.
Unlawful eviction occurs where a residential occupier is unlawfully deprived of occupation of all or part of their home. The precise legal protection and procedure required to recover possession depend on the occupier’s legal status and the circumstances of the case.
Conduct that may amount to unlawful eviction or associated harassment can include:
Importantly, not every occupier has identical statutory protection. Some excluded occupiers are subject to different eviction requirements. Legal status should therefore be established before concluding that a particular eviction was unlawful.
The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 provides important statutory protection against unlawful eviction and harassment of residential occupiers.
Section 1 addresses unlawful deprivation of occupation and certain conduct intended to cause a residential occupier to give up occupation of their home or refrain from exercising rights or remedies in respect of it.
Depending on the facts, prohibited conduct can include interference with an occupier’s peace or comfort or the persistent withdrawal or withholding of services reasonably required for occupation.
An unlawful eviction can therefore have consequences beyond a private dispute between landlord and tenant. Criminal enforcement may also arise in appropriate circumstances.
The Housing Act 1988 also contains important provisions concerning damages for unlawful deprivation of occupation, including sections 27 and 28.
Unlawful eviction can occur in many forms, including:
Changing locks while a protected occupier is away and refusing to provide access can amount to unlawful eviction where the required legal procedure has not been followed.
Physically forcing an occupier to leave, or using threats or intimidation to compel departure, can have serious legal consequences.
Deliberately stopping essential services in an attempt to make an occupier leave may amount to harassment and can form part of an unlawful eviction case.
Preventing an occupier from accessing areas they are legally entitled to use can potentially amount to unlawful interference with occupation.
Removing possessions or placing them outside the property in an attempt to exclude an occupier can give rise to additional claims concerning the belongings themselves.
A landlord cannot ordinarily recover possession of a protected residential tenancy simply by telling the occupier to leave or taking physical possession of the property. The legally required process depends on the tenancy or licence involved.
For most private assured periodic tenancies in England under the current regime, a landlord seeking possession must establish an applicable statutory ground, serve a valid Section 8 notice using Form 3A, observe the relevant notice requirements and, where the tenant remains, obtain a possession order through the court. Lawful enforcement may then be required if the tenant does not leave.
Section 21 was abolished for the relevant private rented sector in England from 1 May 2026. Historic notices and proceedings fall under separate transitional provisions.
A landlord who bypasses the legal procedure and instead changes locks, physically excludes an occupier or deliberately forces them from their home may expose themselves to civil and potentially criminal consequences.
The level of protection against eviction depends upon the occupier’s legal status.
An individual may occupy residential property as an assured tenant, social tenant, licensee, lodger or under another form of residential arrangement. Certain excluded occupiers, including some people who share accommodation with a resident landlord, can be subject to different possession requirements.
The name placed on an agreement is not necessarily decisive. The factual and legal nature of the occupation must be considered.
Before advising whether an eviction was unlawful, we therefore consider what right the occupier had to occupy the property and what legal procedure the landlord was required to follow to recover possession.
Unlawful eviction has serious consequences:
Tenants can pursue civil claims for:
• Compensation for emotional distress and inconvenience
• Loss of belongings
• Costs of temporary accommodation
• Damages for unlawful deprivation of occupation
Civil claims can be brought through the county court and may include claims for financial loss as well as non-pecuniary damages.
Under the Protection from Eviction Act, unlawful eviction and harassment are criminal offences. Landlords or agents found guilty may face:
• Fines
• Imprisonment in serious cases
• Orders preventing them from acting as landlords
• Enforcement action by local authorities
Criminal enforcement recognises the serious impact unlawful eviction has on a tenant’s security, health, and wellbeing.
If an unlawful eviction is threatened or taking place, obtaining evidence and legal advice quickly can be important.
If safe and appropriate:
If violence or threats are involved, or someone is attempting physically to remove you or your belongings without the required court process, contact the police where appropriate and do not put yourself at risk.
Your local authority may also have officers dealing with tenancy relations, harassment and illegal eviction.
Where urgent intervention is necessary, legal advice should be sought about whether an injunction or other urgent court remedy is appropriate.
An injunction can be an important remedy where unlawful eviction is threatened, harassment is continuing or an occupier has already been excluded from their home.
Depending on the circumstances, urgent court relief may be sought to:
Urgent injunction applications are highly fact-sensitive. The court will consider the evidence, the relief sought and the applicable legal tests.
In genuinely urgent circumstances, legal advice may also be required on whether an application should be made without prior notice to the other party. No particular timetable or outcome should be assumed.
Where someone has already been locked out, obtaining evidence quickly can be particularly important because the factual position may develop rapidly.
A person who has been unlawfully deprived of their home may have a claim for compensation in addition to seeking restoration of occupation or an injunction.
Sections 27 and 28 of the Housing Act 1988 contain important provisions concerning damages arising from unlawful deprivation of occupation. Depending on the facts, other causes of action and heads of loss may also arise.
Compensation is not a standard fixed amount. The appropriate claim will depend upon the legal basis established and the circumstances of the eviction.
Relevant matters may include:
Every claim should therefore be valued on its own facts rather than relying on generic online compensation figures.
Illegal eviction or harassment can also potentially give rise to a Rent Repayment Order application where the statutory requirements are satisfied.
A Rent Repayment Order is different from an ordinary civil damages claim. It enables the First-tier Tribunal to order repayment of rent in relation to specified housing offences.
For relevant offences committed from 1 May 2026, the expanded regime can permit an award of up to two years’ rent, subject to the statutory requirements and the Tribunal’s determination. Different rules apply to earlier offences.
This means an unlawfully evicted tenant may need advice about more than one potential remedy: restoration of occupation, injunction proceedings, civil damages and/or a Rent Repayment Order may need to be considered depending on the circumstances.
Unlawful eviction is not solely a civil matter.
Local authorities can investigate harassment and illegal eviction and may take enforcement action where appropriate.
The police may also become relevant where physical violence or threats are involved or someone is attempting to remove an occupier or their belongings without the required legal process.
Civil remedies and criminal or regulatory enforcement are separate matters, and the appropriate course depends on the circumstances.
Evidence can be crucial in establishing both liability and the appropriate remedy. Useful material may include:
Tenants should preserve original evidence wherever possible rather than relying solely on screenshots or recollection later.
Rent arrears do not ordinarily entitle a landlord to bypass the lawful possession process.
Where a private assured tenant owes sufficient rent, a landlord may potentially rely on the appropriate Section 8 possession grounds, including Grounds 8, 10 and/or 11 where their requirements are satisfied.
The existence of rent arrears does not itself authorise changing locks or physically removing a protected occupier.
Landlords facing serious arrears should use the lawful possession procedure rather than attempting self-help eviction.
Harassment and unlawful eviction frequently overlap, but they are not identical concepts.
Harassment can occur before an occupier has actually been excluded. Conduct may be designed to make the occupier leave voluntarily rather than carrying out a direct eviction.
Examples can include threats, deliberately withholding essential services, persistent interference with occupation or other conduct intended to force departure.
Where harassment is ongoing, an injunction may sometimes be required before an unlawful eviction occurs.
Landlords can also obtain advice before taking possession action.
A possession dispute can become considerably more expensive if a landlord inadvertently takes a step amounting to unlawful eviction or harassment.
Before changing locks, restricting access, removing possessions or taking direct action against an occupier, landlords should establish:
Taking advice before action is generally far safer than attempting to remedy an unlawful eviction afterwards.
Knights & Shah Solicitors advises tenants and landlords on unlawful eviction, harassment and possession disputes throughout England.
For tenants, we can advise on threatened or completed unlawful eviction, urgent injunctions, restoration of occupation, compensation claims, Rent Repayment Orders and related housing litigation.
For landlords, we can advise on the lawful possession procedure, occupier status, Section 8 notices, possession proceedings and enforcement to reduce the risk of unlawful eviction allegations.
Our approach is evidence-led and litigation-focused. We identify the occupier’s legal status, the procedure that should have been followed, the conduct complained of and the remedies or defences available before advising on the appropriate next step.
If you believe you have been unlawfully evicted, are facing imminent eviction without due process, or are being harassed by a landlord, contact Knights & Shah Solicitors.
We provide expert solicitor-led advice, emergency legal action, and strategic representation to protect your rights and secure remedies against unlawful eviction and harassment.
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