This is the second of our two featured cases of Unlawful Eviction

 Kirklees Council  v  Susan Lowe Bradford Crown Court May 2009

Mrs Lowe, the landlord waited while the tenant and her partner were away for the weekend during July 2007. She removed the tenant’s belongings from the property leaving them outside in the rain and changed the locks.

The landlord refused to cooperate with council officers when they contacted her and did not comply with a County Court Injunction requiring her to reinstate the tenant.

In May 2009 Mrs Lowe pleaded not guilty to charges relating to an unlawful eviction. She was found guilty of the offence under The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 and also of criminal damage to the tenant’s belongings. She was given a two year conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £1,500

It can be very frustrating to a landlord to discover that his or her tenant doesn’t have the means or perhaps the intentions to fulfil the obligations of the tenancy agreement. This may be the tenant building up substantial rent arrears or allowing the standard of the property to fall into decline through neglect and a general lack of care.

Very often, as landlords when we tell our tales of tenant woe to our friends and family, we hear responses such as, “can’t you just boot them out if they’re not paying?” and “why don’t you just wait until they’re not in and go round and change the locks?” While such friends and family may have only the best intentions at heart, a landlord who was to follow these friendly words of advice to the letter would, more than likely find himself with a claim for unlawful eviction adding to his stresses and frustrations.

To follow are two such cases from earlier this year. These are intended to be read purely for interest in order to show how a court responds to and handles unlawful eviction claims.