Landlord entered property without permission HELP

norm_diploom

As well as the agencies already quoted above, it may be worth giving Shelter a try - they were a great help to us when we had big problems with our landlady a while back.

The tenancy laws in this country are an utter disgrace.

Good luck with the chemo, I know it must be hard going at the moment but do try and write everything down and keep a record of any phone conversations dates etc - it may help to be able to refer back to this later.

Stay strong!

Uncle_Rico

Were I a friend or relative of you, I'd happily slit the ba4tards throat.

vlad_the_impaler

How is it going? Have you reported this theft to the police yet? Clearly the idle little s*it at the front desk could not be bothered with the paperwork, but you get no-where in Britain in 2009 unless you are prepared to push our wonderful authorities or shame them into doing something a bit outside the most basic "extract money from people by way of fines" type duties.

Don't back down on this; report your landlord and don't let up until something happens. If the local plod still do nothing (in this case your LL is a freemason), then get it in the local rag or even a national paper. They would have a field day with this story.

vlad_the_impaler

The nice people on HPC forum want me to post the below to help you out OP, so here it is....

'My Landlord wants me out - protection against harassment and illegal eviction':
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications...mylandlordwants

QUOTE
This booklet describes some of the forms harassment may take and sets out what people can do if they are being harassed or are threatened with illegal eviction.



'Harrassment by Landlords':
http://www.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!/index.php?pa...ible&id=140

QUOTE
Harassment by a landlord is a serious offence and carries civil as well as criminal penalties.

The law relating to harassment and unlawful eviction is very one sided and heavily weighted against the landlord. A landlord can act in what they would consider to be a reasonable way and still be legally engaging in an act of harassment. For instance faxing a letter about rent arrears to the tenants work resulted in a successful claim for harassment being brought resulting in damages of £750 being awarded against the landlord.
Harassment includes a landlord: cutting off water, gas, or electricity; threatening tenants with eviction; interfering with tenant's mail; long-term failure to do repairs; deliberate noise pollution, seeking the tenant outside the scope of the premises a landlord is letting i.e. going to their workplace.
Advice to landlords
Landlords should never coerce a tenant into leaving no matter how bad they are. If a landlord proposes to do something to their tenant thinking "that will get rid of them", if they have not got a legal reason for their actions, they are probably acting unlawfully.
If a landlord must visit their tenant under strained circumstances they should always try to take along an independent witness. In this way the landlord will be in a position to defend them self from spurious claim made by the tenant.
A landlord needs to be particularly careful where they think a tenant has left the property or so called Abandonment. They should never be tempted to change the locks and remove tenants' possessions in such circumstances even if they are unconvinced that the tenant has done a 'runner'. This is because by virtue of S5 (2) of the Housing Act 1988 a tenancy can only be brought to an end by the Landlord obtaining a Court order for possession or by a surrender or similar act by the tenant. If the courts are convinced that the landlord intended to re-instate the tenant after a discussion about rent arrears it is likely the landlord will be prosecuted for Harassment, if they believe the intention was the eviction be permanent then the landlord will be prosecuted for unlawful eviction.
Landlords should always give the tenant as much notice a possible if they are to visit the property to avoid any potential claims of harassment. At least 48 hours ideally unless there is an emergency. In wording the notice it is always a good idea to couch the notification in the negative. That is to say "I will be visiting the residential investment property at 1pm on Thursday 6 June. If this is not convenient please notify me ASAP."
A landlord should never approach a tenant for rent or matters relating to a potential conflict involving the tenancy outside the scope of the premises they are letting as this could constitute harassment.
If problems arise a landlord should remember to keep dated notes about their actions and the tenants response in case the matter does go to court and the tenant tries to claim harassment.
A landlord needs to be realistic about losses including loss of rent.
This is because the financial penalties of being convicted for harassment could be far worse.


'Harassment':
http://www.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!/index.php?pa...ible&id=207

QUOTE
Harassment legislation
It has been a criminal offence since 1964 for a landlord to harass or unlawfully evict an occupier who is legally entitled to be on the premises. This can include trespassers.

The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 was introduced to toughen the protection for tenants which were not considered satisfactory. This Act created an offence of harassment under S1 (3). If convicted a landlord could be subject to a penalty of up to a £5000 fine and 6 months in jail at Magistrates Court and an unlimited fine and up to 2 years in jail at Crown Court.

Definition of harassment
The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 defines harassment as: any act(s) likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of the residential occupier or any members of his or her family, or the persistent withdrawal of services reasonably needed for occupation. Offences under S1(3) can only be committed by the landlord or his agent who intend to cause the person to leave. There is no requirement to prove that the landlord intended the occupier to leave. Under S1(3A) the same offences can be committed by any person who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that this will make the occupier leave. There is a defence to S1(3A) if a landlord can prove that they had reasonable grounds for carrying out the acts.

The Criminal Law Act (1977) under section 6(2) of this act states that it is an offence for anyone 'without lawful authority' to use, or threaten to use, violence to gain entry to a property where someone is trying to prevent him form doing so. The police will normally prosecute a landlord under the Criminal Law Act.

However, criminal courts are not empowered to order a landlord to allow tenants back into a property. The 1988 Housing Act extended the offence of harassment, introducing a right to civil action for damages by wrongfully evicted occupiers. This piece of legislation introduced granted the tenant the right to sue for damages in the County Court.

This act allows tenants to either seek an injunction to restrain a landlord or to regain possession of a property. To bring proceedings a 'cause of action' is necessary which means that a landlord must be shown to have broken some rule of law by his actions and to have caused the tenant to suffer loss or harm because of this.

Compensation
The basic remedy for breach of contract or tort will be damages or compensation for loss. These damages can amount to considerable sums of money. For actions under section 27 of the Housing Act (1988), (where a landlord commits acts resulting in a tenant giving up a property) section 28 requires that damages be assessed on the basis of the gain to the landlord, in an attempt to prevent landlords from profiting from their actions.

Claims in respect of harassment and illegal eviction have been deemed not suitable for the small claims procedure. Claims up to £15,000 will normally be referred to the new fast track procedure which aims to bring these claims to trial within 30 weeks of being allocated with only a limited amount of pre-trial preparation. The costs awarded at trial (which will not normally exceed one day) are fixed at no more than £750 for the advocate. A claim exceeding £15,000 will normally be allocated to the 'multi-track' which is a more flexible procedure where costs are recovered on the traditional standard or indemnity basis.

unclefester666

I was advised I had not been robbed as I did not see the item go missing:think: - a letter to my MP resulted in a letter from the Home Secretary, a call and a letter from the Chief Constable and 4 CID officers 1 sergeant and 3 PC's investigating my missing phone. My only regret was not getting the PC number of the original idiot who wouldnt give me a crime number. They are trying to keep figures down by not reporting crimes dont let them get away with it

Good luck with the chemo