Landlord has changed the lock

MoonDragon

Hi all,

This is my first post.

I am in a private shared housing accommodation but my assured shorthold tenancy agreement ended on 05 January 2013 , and the landlord had sent me a section 21 and section 8 eviction notice last November . In the eviction letter they said that I had 8 weeks arrears while i had just 2 weeks arrears due to the housing benefit payment delay.

The deadline of the eviction notice is 05 february 2013 but on 05 January 2013 the last date of my ast, the landlord came into the property and has changed the front door lock (by the way that I can only go out but cannot come back in) . I was and still in my room since last saturday. I am sick since a month.

I called the police but for them the landlord has the right to do this.

I have called shelter yesterday who advised me to call Community Legal Advice and this last redirect me to a solicitor whom opened a file for me on legal aid basis. However, this solicitor told me yesterday that they will send a letter by email to my landlord and myself but he didn't. I have called him equally this morning to know when he will send the email and he told me today : I have checked my mailbox all the day and I have received nothing.

Also, if tomorrow the situation remains the same what can I do?Can I change the lock by myself or send by internet a N244 form to the county court?

Thanks in advance for your help,

G_M

You say this is "shared housing accommodation". Who do you share with? Not the landlord I hope!!? (if so, it is NOT a "assured shorthold tenancy agreement").

Which lock has he changed? You say the front door. So how do the others get in and out? Has he given them new keys? Can you borrow a key from one of them and get a copy made?

Or is it the door to your own room he's changed? (I hardly dare ask how you get to the loo.....!)

However - Assuming you DO have an AST, you can change the lock yourself. As long as you can open the door, you can unscrew the lock, take it to a locksmith/hardware store, buy a similar one, and screw it on. See here for how. (of course, if it's the front door you'll need enough keys for your housemates.) Do you have a friend who can help? go to B&Q while you stay at home?

Keep the original lock to replace later.
( for how to replace another type of lock see here)

Next.
It is illegal for the landlord to evict you without going to court and getting a court order. Protection from Eviction Act 1977 . It seems he has not done this.

It is also illegal to harass you. Same Act, section 1. 3:

the landlord of a residential occupier or an agent of the landlord shall be guilty of an offence if - he does acts likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of the residential occupier or members of his household

until you are evicted by a court bailiff you are still a residential occupier.

You can try speaking to the police again as these are criminal offences, but unfortunately the police often try not to get involved, and treat them as civil matters.
* if you have difficulty persuading an officer to do anything
1) ask for a more senior officer &/or
2) quote the Act above &/or
3) insist on being allocated a crime number &/or
4) take the officer's name/number

Even if they take no action, insist they make a record of your complaint (crime number!) so that if things get worse there is a record.

Next: the less good news:

In the eviction letter they said that I had 8 weeks arrears while i had just 2 weeks arrears due to the housing benefit payment delay.

If the LL has not received the rent, then the rent is in arrears. The fact that it is HB who have failed to pay, not you, is irrelevant. The contract is between you and the landlord. The LL has not got the rent. YOU are in arrears.

edit: you mention an N244.

This is used after a court possession hearing. So - has there been a court hearing? You started by saying

the landlord had sent me a section 21 and section 8 eviction notice

These are
1) NOT court notices, so imply there has not (yet) been a court hearing
2) NOT eviction notices - they are simply notices to inform you the LL wants possession, and MAY apply to a court.

So again - has there been a court hearing?

EmmaHerts

I would call a locksmith and explain that I had lost my door-key- then I would invoice the cost of the new key to the landlord.

MoonDragon

G_M wrote: »

You say this is "shared housing accommodation". Who do you share with? Not the landlord I hope!!? (if so, it is NOT a "assured shorthold tenancy agreement").

Which lock has he changed? You say the front door. So how do the others get in and out? Has he given them new keys? Can you borrow a key from one of them and get a copy made?

Or is it the door to your own room he's changed?Do you have a friend who can help? go to B&Q while you stay at home?

I had an AST which expired on 05 January 2013, the date the landlord had changed the front door lock and gave a copy of it key to the others tenants whom are his relatives. One of these tenants is equally involved in my harassment because he would like to give my room to one of his friend.
Unfortunately I don't have any close friend in London and so I am on my own.

G_M wrote: »

Next: the less good news:
If the LL has not received the rent, then the rent is in arrears. The fact that it is HB who have failed to pay, not you, is irrelevant. The contract is between you and the landlord. The LL has not got the rent. YOU are in arrears.

The rent payment was done by myself through my online bank account and I have my bank statements as proof of this. On 05 January 2013, the rent was up to date.

19lottie82

I’d keep on at the police, they will prob think that this is a civil matter, but it isn’t. What you describe is an “illegal eviction”, and is a criminal matter.

Also, make an appointment with the Citizens Advice ASAP.

Also maybe go see a lawyer who offers the first half hour for free, for some advice.

tim123456789

MoonDragon wrote: »

Hi all,

This is my first post.

I am in a private shared housing accommodation but my assured shorthold tenancy agreement ended on 05 January 2013 , and the landlord had sent me a section 21 and section 8 eviction notice last November . In the eviction letter they said that I had 8 weeks arrears while i had just 2 weeks arrears due to the housing benefit payment delay.

The deadline of the eviction notice is 05 february 2013 but on 05 January 2013 the last date of my ast, the landlord came into the property and has changed the front door lock (by the way that I can only go out but cannot come back in) . I was and still in my room since last saturday. I am sick since a month.

I called the police but for them the landlord has the right to do this.

,

Oh no he doesn't, it's an attempt at an illegal eviction and they should take action.

You may need to get a housing charity to explain it to them

tim

jonewer

You can ONLY be evicted by court appointed bailiffs.

Call the plod again and tell them that you are the victim of an offence under Section 1 part 2 of the Protection from Eviction Act of 1977 and that if they fail to act you will be making a complaint to the IPCC and the elected police and crime commisioner. Make a note of the name of the person you speak to.

MoonDragon

jonewer wrote: »

You can ONLY be evicted by court appointed bailiffs.

Call the plod again and tell them that you are the victim of an offence under Section 1 part 2 of the Protection from Eviction Act of 1977 and that if they fail to act you will be making a complaint to the IPCC and the elected police and crime commisioner. Make a note of the name of the person you speak to.

I have done all of this without success. When I have called the DPS Complaints and Satisfaction Team, they told me exactly the same then the previous police officers : "civil matter".

However, I soon as I will have resolved the present issue I will have to make at least three different complaints regarding these police officer of (one about an assault/harassment i have been victim (from a tenant whom is equally a friend of the landlord) but they refused to investigate, and the two others complaints will be regarding the present unlawful eviction).

purple.sarah

Try contacting Shelter, they are a charity that helps with housing issues. Contact Shelter's free housing advice helpline on 0808 800 4444 (calls are free from UK landlines and main mobile networks).

G_M

MoonDragon wrote: »

I had an AST which expired on 05 January 2013, the date the landlord had changed the front door lock and gave a copy of it key to the others tenants whom are his relatives.
No. Your AST did NOT expire on 5 Jan. The Fixed Term expired (I assume) but the AST continues as a Statutory Period AST(sometimes called a monthly or rolling tenancy).

The LL still has to go to court before he can evict you.

This post explains SPTs here.

The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 section 1 should be quoted to police, and the landlord.


The rent payment was done by myself through my online bank account and I have my bank statements as proof of this. On 05 January 2013, the rent was up to date.

A S8 Notice is usually used by LLs if there are arrears. But he must still go to court and prove there are arrears. Of course, you also go to court and prove that there are NOT arrears. For the court toorder possession/eviction, there must be at least 2 months arrears both
a) on the date he served you the S8 Notice AND
b) on the date of the court hearing

Since this does not seem to be the case, the S8 Notice cannot be used.

The S21 Notice is a 'no fault' Notice. The LL does not need to have a reason, but
a) must give you 2 months notice which he seems to have done (you said 'November' but did not say which exact date)
b) it cannot be used till after the Fixed Term of the AST has ended - which you say was Jan 5th.

So unless the S21 is invalid for some other reason (below) the LL can go to court and the court will grant him possession.

However, until he does this, he cannot evict you, change the locks, harass you. So you can still go to the police (though as I said they may take a lot of persuading).

A key reason the S21 might be invalid (and thrown out by the court) is if you have paid a deposit to the landlord and
he did not
a) register it in one of the 3 recognised schemes within 30 days of you paying it OR
b) he registerd it but did not give you the 'prescribed information' about the scheme, again, within 30 days.

More here on the schemes and deposits:

Deposits (Rules on deposit protection)

Localism Act 2011 (section 184 - updates to deposit scheme rules) Plain English explanation!

Finally, I have to say, I think that although this is a lousy landlord, you are going to have to move eventually. Well, partly I advise it because he is a lousy landlord!

Even if he has got the S21 Notice wrong (eg wrong dates or deposit not registered), eventually he will get it right, and get a court order. All you can gain by fighting him is some time. If this is helpful/important to you, then fight. But accept that in the end you will have to leave. And given that the other tenants are his relatives I imagine it is a very unpleasant place to live right now.

Although very sympathetic to you, I advise you to focus on finding somewhere new.

MoonDragon

G_M wrote: »

A key reason the S21 might be invalid (and thrown out by the court) is if you have paid a deposit to the landlord and
he did not

b) he registerd it but did not give you the 'prescribed information' about the scheme, again, within 30 days.

What do you mean by "did not give you the 'prescribed information' about the scheme, again, within 30 days."

He had put the deposit in a scheme around 6 months after the beginning of the tenancy agreement, but I have not received any 'prescribed information' regarding this scheme during the last 5 months.