The system is failing victims of illegal evictions: Lewis

Lewis, one of our Senior Caseworkers, sheds light on an experience he had of supporting a guest with an illegal eviction and advocating on his behalf – and what change he’d like to see in London. 

Illegal evictions are an issue that does not get discussed enough. As a front-line worker, I see the damage they cause, leading to homelessness and unnecessary suffering on a regular basis. 

Here is an example from not too long ago. The guest I supported in this case was a man in his 60s who had been renting a room in a shared house through an agency for three years. His health meant that he had to stop working temporarily, so he made a claim for Universal Credit. 

Because of how Universal Credit works, he had accrued two months of rent arrears by the time the payment came through. At this point, the agency asked him to come to their office, which he had not visited before. When he got to the address they gave him, he found out that it was just a registered postal address and there was no office.

When he returned home, the locks had been changed. He had been locked out of his house without a legal eviction notice or any kind of proper procedure being followed. 

He called the police straight away and told them what had happened, but as often occurs, they told him it was a civil rather than a criminal issue and that they could not do anything about it. In fact, illegal evictions are a criminal offence under Section 27 of the Housing Act 1988 and Section 3 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. 

He then went to the council, (who have the responsibility to prosecute illegal evictions) whose only response was to start processing a homelessness application and telling him to contact the police. Unable to get back into his flat and let down by the authorities, he was left with no option but to sleep rough. 

How Glass Door helped 

Eventually, he found out about Glass Door’s drop-in casework sessions and came to see me. When he told me what had happened, I called the police with him and the first thing they said to me was what they had said to him – that it was a civil matter. I let them know that, in addition to the fact that illegal evictions have been a crime since 1977, new guidance had been issued to the Metropolitan Police in August 2023 with the intention of stopping officers from treating illegal evictions as a civil matter.   

Unfortunately, the person I spoke to on the phone did not accept what I was saying. I then called 101 again to try my luck with a different call handler, and the handler told me that this case would not be considered a priority, that the police were too busy to deal with it and that I should go to the police station. 

I even spoke to the estate agent and asked them to provide evidence of a possession order from the court (which they would need for it to be a legal eviction).

They defensively said they would not provide any documents unless they were taken to court.

I went to the police station the next day, where we were told yet again that it was a civil matter. I asked them to read the guidance that had been issued in August, but they refused, instead going to their sergeant who said it was a civil matter. Thankfully, there was one officer who listened to what I was saying and decided to check the guidance, saw I was right and so did what I suggested and got in touch with the agency. He tried to call them, then sent an email informing them that they were committing an offence and that he would report them to the rogue landlord database if they did not provide evidence that they had followed the correct procedure (after I told him those were the actions he could take). 

If the police attempt to get the landlord to let him back had not worked, my plan was to try to get the local authority to start prosecuting the agent, as well as finding him a no-win, no-fee solicitor to get him compensation. Eventually, we were able to get him back into his home, where he is still living, and the landlord has not tried to take any further unlawful action against him. 

How the system fails people – and how it can be improved 

Because the authorities did not support him when he first got in contact with them, the guest had to sleep rough for two weeks, and without Glass Door’s help he might have been stuck in this situation for even longer. 

He is just one of the countless people who have been pushed into homelessness and suffered as a result of illegal evictions.

One issue is that the law is not being properly enforced, which also means that we do not have accurate data on how many illegal evictions actually happen each year. The police still do not recognise that an offence is being committed, and at times even facilitate them. Another is that too much responsibility is placed on councils without the resources to make proper use of the extra powers they are given. Even when councils have the resources available to prosecute those responsible, this is a very long process, and in the time it takes to get a court order for the tenant to be allowed back, they might be left with nowhere to live. 

Instead of relying on the fear of prosecution to convince landlords or agents to let people back in, a much more direct way would be to empower the police to arrest them if they do not either provide evidence that they have followed proper legal procedure or allow the tenant back in. Illegally kicking someone out of their home can cause immense psychological damage and should be treated as a serious offence. 

My experience supporting this guest is an example of why we need much stronger systems in place to ensure that victims can get justice and that perpetrators experience consequences, so that others are deterred from doing the same in the future.