Fighting Eviction

In order to evict tenants in the UK, all landlords are required to follow specific legal procedures. Laws have been set out to safeguard tenants, and the legality of an eviction can be down to what type of tenancy agreement you have. If your landlord or landlady does not follow the correct procedure when it comes to eviction, he or she could be committing a criminal offence. Unlawful eviction is regarded very seriously in the eyes of the law.

Eviction by private landlords

In order to evict tenants, private landlords usually have to follow strict procedures. For instance, they may need specific legal reasons for eviction. Most private landlords will provide written notice before eviction, and this is a legal requirement for most tenancies. Anything else is an infringement of tenants’ rights. If you are an excluded occupier, only verbal notice is required.

Notice – should include specific dates, names, addresses and reason for eviction. The notice should specific a date on which the tenant must leave. When the notice runs out, usually after two months, you do not actually have to leave until the landlord serves a possession order. However, if the landlord takes you to court to make you leave and you lose the case, you may have to pay their court costs. Generally, notice will be for two months. However, if a tenant has done something wrong then, then a 14-day notice period is legally permissible.

You should contact your landlord to establish whether there is any way of staying (i.e: repayment of rent arrears) or avoiding forced eviction. If you wish to remain in the house beyond the end of the period of notice it is worth seeking legal advice.

Steps in an eviction

Evictions usually occur in the following three steps:

-         Asking you to leave

-         Getting a court order

-         Eviction by bailiffs

For more on the eviction process see the ibuytolet Guide to Evicting Tenants

Fighting eviction by private landlords

It is always worth trying to informally settle disputes, and to avoid eviction if it is in any way possible. If a landlord tries to evict you illegally, by being threatening or using unreasonable force, you should report them to the police immediately. If bailiffs acting on behalf of the landlord use unreasonable force, you should also contact the police. In some instances, you may be able to halt the proceedings with the court by applying to stop eviction. To do this, specialist advice must be sought. Remember, nobody except a bailiff on behalf of the county court is allowed to physically remove you from the accommodation. If they do so, they may be guilty of an illegal eviction, and face heavy penalties.

If the eviction has not followed the law for evictions in the UK (Asking the tenant to leave, giving notice, getting a court order, eviction by bailiffs) and you believe that there may be problems with the procedure, seek specialist advice immediately.

Fighting eviction by bailiffs

The bailiff’s office at the court will write to inform you of the date and time of the eviction. You should have at least a few days notice. If you have no way of getting out, get in touch with a specialist adviser ASAP to determine whether you can stop the bailiffs or seek alternative accommodation. In some circumstances it may be possible to stop the bailiffs. However, you need to apply to a court to do this. You will be given a hearing.

The judge will not stop the bailiffs unless there is a very good reason, such as health problems etc. If the judge does stop the bailiffs, make sure that the bailiff’s office is informed. If you cannot stop the bailiffs, seek alternative accommodation ASAP. Once bailiffs arrive, they can call the police if you do not co-operate or they think you may prevent them. Once present, they can remove anyone from the dwelling, and they may also remove possessions if the court has specified this.

Bailiffs may be acting beyond their power if they: use unreasonable force, threaten arrest, use threatening or bad language, attempt an eviction when only children are at home, evict vulnerable people without suitable precautions. In any of these instances, the evictee has grounds for complaint.

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