If you have an assured tenancy or a regulated tenancy, you have the right to privacy and protection from unlawful eviction and harassment by your landlord.
What unlawful eviction and harassment are
Unlawful eviction includes forcing you to leave using threats, physically throwing you out, and changing the locks while you're out. You can find out more about what counts as an unlawful eviction on the Shelter website.
Harassment includes entering your home without permission, cutting off gas, water, or electricity, removing or damaging your belongings, violence, and making threats. You can find out more about what counts as harassment on the Shelter website.
If your landlord is evicting you
If your landlord wants to evict you, they must give you a notice. The notice will either say 'Section 21 of the Housing Act 2004' or 'Section 8 of the Housing Act 2004'.
A Section 21 notice means the landlord wants to end your tenancy. It can also be called a 'no fault' notice because your landlord does not need to give a reason for the notice.
A Section 8 notice means the landlord wants to evict you and repossess the property because you've breached your tenancy agreement.
You can find out more about eviction notices on the Shelter website.
Your landlord must follow a legal process to evict you. Your tenancy agreement will stay in place until you leave the property voluntarily, or a court has approved the eviction and made a court order. You cannot be forced to leave the property while your tenancy agreement is still in place.
If your landlord has not followed the legal process, and forces you out, denies you access to the property, or harasses you, this is unlawful.
Report unlawful eviction or harassment
If you're facing unlawful eviction, you can report it to us online.