What to do if your landlord harasses you.
If you are renting your home from a private landlord or a letting agent, you are entitled to live in your home peacefully.
If your landlord does anything intended to make you leave your home or interferes with your quiet enjoyment, your landlord is breaking the law.
Our Housing Options team has specialist advisors who can help you.
Examples of harassment
Harassment includes the following:
- Removing or restricting access to services, such as gas, electricity or water, or failing to pay the bills so that these services are cut off
- Visiting your home regularly without warning, especially late at night
- Interfering with your post
- Threatening you
- Sending builders around without notice
- Entering your home when you are not there, without your permission
- Allowing your home to get into such a bad state of repair that it's dangerous for you to stay
- Beginning disruptive repair works and not finishing them
- Harassing you because of your gender, race or sexuality
- Refusing to let you into certain parts of your home, such as the kitchen or bathroom)
- Stopping you from having guests
- Intentionally moving in other tenants who cause a nuisance to you
- Forcing you to sign agreements which take away your legal rights
If you make a complaint against your landlord
If you make a complaint against your landlord, we will treat it in the strictest confidence and will not contact your landlord unless you agree.
If you agree, we will talk to your landlord and advise him of his responsibilities and your rights as a tenant. Normally, this is enough and a landlord will change his behaviour.
In some serious cases, the Council may have to take legal action against a landlord. In this situation, we will need your help and you may have to go to court.
If your landlord asks you to leave without proper notice
Your landlord cannot make you to leave your home during the term of your tenancy.
If your landlord wants you to leave, he must keep to the conditions of your tenancy by serving you proper notice.
If your landlord wants to end the tenancy during the term, for example if you have rent arrears, he must apply to the courts to end the tenancy legally.
If you don't have a written tenancy agreement
If you do not have a written tenancy agreement, you still have the same rights as a tenant with a written agreement.
If your landlord locks you out
You should contact our Housing Options team who will be able to advise and support you. We may be able to get you back into the property. If your landlord is threatening or violent, call the police immediately.
Guidance and additional information
You can find further information and advice on the Shelter website.
Contact us