Evictions
Illegal evictions
An illegal eviction takes place if your landlord, or a person acting on their behalf, makes you leave your home without following the correct legal process. The procedure that a landlord needs to follow depends on the type of tenancy agreement you have.
If a landlord illegally evicts a tenant, it is a serious criminal offence.
Some examples of illegal eviction are -
- changing the locks while you are out
- stopping you from using parts of your home
- removing you from your home by force
- moving into part of your home
Retaliatory evictions
A retaliatory eviction is where a tenant makes a legitimate complaint to their landlord about the condition of their property. Then, in response, instead of making the repair, the landlord serves them with a Section 8 notice asking them to leave.
There are only certain grounds the landlord can rely on within the notice (for example where a tenant fails to pay the rent or has been involved in antisocial behaviour). Previous ‘no fault’ evictions are no longer valid if the notice was served on you after 1 May 2026. However, note that if Section 21 notice was served before this date it may still be valid if proceedings were initiated before 1 August 2026 or within 6 months of the notice being served, whichever is earlier.
You can use this example letter to report a repair to your landlord.
You should always keep a copy of the letter you send. For urgent issues you may wish to telephone your landlord.