A council is telling landlords not to break the law when they are seeking to evict tenants.

This follows Worcester council’s prosecution of a landlord who locked a tenant out of the home they were renting, after issuing an invalid eviction notice to them. 

The court ordered the landlord to pay a total of £3,042 in fines and charges.

A council spokesperson says: “We know that landlords will sometimes have just cause for evicting tenants – for example if they are behind on their rent, have damaged the property or are behaving in an unacceptable manner. In other cases, the landlord may simply want to sell their property.

“The law is very clear that the correct process has to be followed. This is set out in the Housing Act 1988, which allows landlords to issue either a Section 8 notice, where details of a breach of tenancy have to be detailed, or a Section 21 notice, often called a ‘no fault eviction notice’.

“Tenants have rights too, and it’s not acceptable for landlords to issue a notice that doesn’t meet all the legal requirements and then simply lock their tenant out of the home that they are renting.

“In such cases the.council is ready and able to take action, and that can include prosecution and a hefty fine.

“If a landlord is unsure about the correct process to follow they can find all the information they need at gov.uk/evicting-tenants.”