Harassment and unlawful eviction

Under the Rent Order (Northern Ireland) Act 1978, a private tenant can only be forced to leave their home if a court of law has issued a court order.

Harassment and unlawful eviction are criminal offences under the Act.

Our public health and housing team can:

provide advice to landlords and tenants
investigate complaints of harassment and unlawful eviction
prosecute landlords who have harassed or illegally evicted their tenants.

Harassment

Harassment covers any action taken by a landlord, or someone acting on their behalf, to make a tenant leave their home.

Examples include:

interfering with gas, water and electricity supplies
making threats and instructing a tenant to leave
entering the property without consent
refusing to carry out repairs
making frequent unannounced visits, especially late at night.

Tenants should record the details of any harassment including the date, time and a short description of the incident.

Unlawful eviction

This occurs when a landlord, or any person acting for them, forces or attempts to force a tenant from their home without following the proper legal procedures.

Examples include:

changing the locks to a property when a tenant is not at home
physically throwing a tenant out
stopping a tenant from getting into part or all of their home.

If a landlord wants a tenant to leave, they must provide a 'notice to quit', even if there is no tenancy agreement.

The following time scales for notices to quit apply regardless of what the tenancy agreement states:

If the tenancy was in existence for less than 5 years you must receive four weeks notice to quit.
If the tenancy was in existence for more than 5 years but less than 10 years you must receive 8 weeks notice to quit.
If the tenancy was in existence for more than 10 years you must receive 12 weeks notice to quit.

It should be in writing and both the landlord and tenant should keep a copy.

If the tenant does not leave after the notice has run out, the landlord can apply for a court order from a magistrates' court.

However, it is an offence to evict a tenant without getting a court order, even if the notice to quit has expired.

Landlords do not need a court order to evict licensees, who share part or all of a property (usually with the landlord). Licensees are only entitled to 'reasonable' notice before they must leave the property.