Tenant groups help rewrite Met Police eviction procedures

Tenant activist groups have helped the Metropolitan Police rewrite its guidance and training for officers dealing with housing evictions.

The Met says the changes are ‘reflective’ of a tenant’s needs and now include a presumption in favour of the tenant against eviction.

Generation Rent and Safer Renting have helped with writing the guidance and the police have also worked with the Greater London Authority on the new rules.

‘Send a message to landlords’

Generation Rent’s deputy chief executive, Dan Wilson Craw, told the BBC that new police guidance will ‘send a message to landlords that there are consequences for breaking the law’.

He added: “Renters need the full protection of the law when threatened with an illegal eviction.

“Police officers must not dismiss them as civil matters or, worse still, assist any landlord in these criminal acts.”

Eviction is illegal if there is no court-appointed bailiff

The Met Police guidance states that an eviction is illegal if there is no court-appointed bailiff present and the eviction takes place out of hours.

A spokesperson told Property118: “The Met has been working closely with the Greater London Authority and organisations protecting the rights of tenants.

“This work has informed the updated training and guidance provided to frontline officers and is reflective of the needs of tenants.”

‘The effort of a landlord or representative to evict’

They added: “Starting at the point that the effort of a landlord or representative to evict an individual/individuals is illegal will prompt officers to ensure that there is a bailiff in place who is in possession of the relevant paperwork, and that due process – as per the legislation – has been followed.

“This guidance is available to all frontline officers via our internal Neighbourhood intranet pages.

“There is also online training available via the internal training system which has been pushed out to frontline officers regularly.”

New illegal eviction guidance for Met Police officers

The new illegal eviction guidance for Met Police officers spells out the Criminal Law Act 1977 – s6 Violence for securing entry.

That’s when someone uses violence to enter a premises and there is someone present.

The guidance also states that illegal eviction is ‘easily identifiable’ by actions at the scene, including someone bullying a tenant from their home or changing the locks.

Along with practical steps when a bailiff isn’t present, the officer must inform the landlord that proceeding means they will be committing an offence.

They can also request the tenant be let back into the property and make use of the ‘Report a Rogue Landlord’ tool.

The guidance also stresses that since officers are asked to attend means an eviction is likely to be illegal – and they must make a ‘presumption in favour of the tenant to remain in their home’.

‘Safeguard London’s renters from illegal evictions’

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, told us: “For too long, rogue landlords have been able to take advantage of the fact that, until now, there have been few protections in place to safeguard London’s renters from illegal evictions.

“I’m incredibly pleased to be working closely with the Met Police, Safer Renting and Generation Rent to crack down on illegal evictions in the capital.”

He added: “These new, robust guidelines will ensure that London renters not only have a much clearer sense of their rights, but that frontline police officers are far better equipped to respond to incidences of tenants being harassed, threatened or illegally forced out of their homes by their landlords.”

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