Unlawful Eviction & Landlord Harassment - Housing Standards Academy

About Course

Unlawful eviction and harassment are criminal offences, not technical breaches of contract. This course takes you from the first phone call to a case that survives being tested, following one tenant through every stage.

Ten modules and thirty-eight lessons covering the legal foundations, the two offences, the tenant’s civil remedies, your own enforcement powers, the wider sanctions, the homelessness duties, building a case for court, rent repayment orders, and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.

Written for England. Law checked against legislation.gov.uk.

Distinguish between tenants, licensees and excluded occupiers, and explain why the distinction determines the level of protection from eviction.
Explain the only lawful route to possession under the current regime, state accurately when a tenancy ends, and apply the scope gate that determines whether the current rules apply at all.
Identify the elements of the unlawful eviction offence and the harassment offence, and analyse a factual account against those elements, including the distinction between the completed offence and the attempt.
Evaluate the reasonable belief defence and abandonment claims against the available evidence.
Advise accurately on the civil remedies open to an occupier, including injunctions and the categories of damages.
Select a proportionate enforcement response from the local authority toolkit, exercise the investigatory powers lawfully, and justify the selection on evidential and public interest grounds.
Apply Part 7 homelessness duties correctly to an applicant who has been unlawfully evicted.
Prepare an unlawful eviction case to a standard that withstands scrutiny in court or before the First-tier Tribunal.
Explain the current rent repayment order regime, including when the amount is to be the maximum, and choose between a financial penalty and prosecution knowing that the two are mutually exclusive in both directions.
Apply the Renters' Rights Act 2025 in practice: the periodic tenancy structure, the duties owed during a tenancy, the offence of misusing a possession ground, the financial penalties, and the transitional rule that turns on the date of the offence.

Course Content

Course Introduction
The welcome lesson.

0.1 Welcome and How This Course Works

06:00

Module 1: Legal Foundations
Who is protected, what a notice does, how a tenancy really ends, and the duties the 2025 Act created.

Module 2: Unlawful Eviction
The section 1 offence and its elements, the defence you will meet, and a worked case.

Module 3: Landlord Harassment
The two limbs of harassment, what the conduct looks like, and the evidence that proves it.

Module 4: Civil Remedies
Injunctions, damages, legal aid, and the tenancy relations response on day one.

Module 5: Local Authority Enforcement
What you can enforce and to what standard, how you choose a route, and the powers behind it.

Module 6: Wider Sanctions
Rent repayment orders, banning orders, the database, and using them across a portfolio.

Module 7: Homelessness Duties
Whether she is homeless, which duty is owed, and what happens to her belongings.

Module 8: Advanced Case Management
Planning a case, anticipating the defence, and surviving disclosure and court.

Module 9: Rent Repayment Orders
What changed in May 2026, who can be made to pay, and how an application actually works.

Module 10: The Renters’ Rights Act 2025
The false ground offence, the new penalty, and the choice between penalty and prosecution.

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About Course

What Will You Learn?

Course Content

Course Introduction The welcome lesson.

0.1 Welcome and How This Course Works

Module 1: Legal Foundations Who is protected, what a notice does, how a tenancy really ends, and the duties the 2025 Act created.

1.1 Who Is Protected

1.2 Tenancy Types and What a Notice Does

1.3 Possession After Section 21: The Section 8 Route

1.4 How a Tenancy Really Ends

1.5 The Other Duties of the New Regime

Module 1 knowledge check

Module 2: Unlawful Eviction The section 1 offence and its elements, the defence you will meet, and a worked case.

2.1 The Offence and Its Elements

2.2 The Defence, and the Abandonment Claim

2.3 Evidence, Patterns and Your Decision

2.4 A Worked Case

Module 2 knowledge check

Module 3: Landlord Harassment The two limbs of harassment, what the conduct looks like, and the evidence that proves it.

3.1 The Legal Framework

3.2 What the Conduct Looks Like

3.3 Evidence, Options and Safeguarding

Module 3 knowledge check

Module 4: Civil Remedies Injunctions, damages, legal aid, and the tenancy relations response on day one.

4.1 Injunctions

4.2 Damages

4.3 Legal Aid, and Where You Fit

4.4 Day One: The Tenancy Relations Response

Module 4 knowledge check

Module 5: Local Authority Enforcement What you can enforce and to what standard, how you choose a route, and the powers behind it.

5.1 What You Can Enforce, and to What Standard

5.2 Evidence and Interviews

5.3 Choosing Your Route

5.4 Coordination and Defensible Decisions

5.5 The Enforcement Architecture

Module 5 knowledge check

Module 6: Wider Sanctions Rent repayment orders, banning orders, the database, and using them across a portfolio.

6.1 Rent Repayment Orders

6.2 The Amount, Banning Orders and the Database

6.3 From Casework to Strategy

Module 6 knowledge check

Module 7: Homelessness Duties Whether she is homeless, which duty is owed, and what happens to her belongings.

7.1 Is She Homeless, and Which Duty?

7.2 Priority Need and Interim Accommodation

7.3 Belongings, Coordination and Pitfalls

Module 7 knowledge check

Module 8: Advanced Case Management Planning a case, anticipating the defence, and surviving disclosure and court.

8.1 Planning and Evidence Mapping

8.2 Anticipating the Defence, and the Interview

8.3 Records, Disclosure and Court

Module 8 knowledge check

Module 9: Rent Repayment Orders What changed in May 2026, who can be made to pay, and how an application actually works.

9.1 What Changed, and Who Pays

9.2 Strategy, Transition and Safeguards

9.3 Making the Application Work

Module 9 knowledge check

Module 10: The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 The false ground offence, the new penalty, and the choice between penalty and prosecution.

10.1 What Changed on 1 May 2026

10.2 The False Ground Offence

10.3 The Financial Penalty and the Choice

10.4 Putting It All Together

Module 10 knowledge check