Protection from Eviction Act 1977
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
(1) In this section “residential occupier”, in relation to any premises, means a person occupying the premises as a residence, whether under a contract or by virtue of any enactment or rule of law giving him the right to remain in occupation or restricting the right of any other person to recover possession of the premises.(2) If any person unlawfully deprives the residential occupier of any premises of his occupation of the premises or any part thereof, or attempts to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence unless he proves that he believed, and had reasonable cause to believe, that the residential occupier had ceased to reside in the premises.to give up the occupation of the premises or any part thereof; orto refrain from exercising any right or pursuing any remedy in respect of the premises or part thereof;he does acts likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of the residential occupier or members of his household, orhe persistently withdraws or withholds services reasonably required for the occupation of the premises in question as a residence,(3B) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under subsection (3A) above if he proves that he had reasonable grounds for doing the acts or withdrawing or withholding the services in question.the residential occupier’s right to remain in occupation of the premises, ora restriction on the person’s right to recover possession of the premises,on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding F39the prescribed sum or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both;on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.(5) Nothing in this section shall be taken to prejudice any liability or remedy to which a person guilty of an offence thereunder may be subject in civil proceedings.(6) Where an offence under this section committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager or secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.Where any premises are let as a dwelling on a lease which is subject to a right of re-entry or forfeiture it shall not be lawful to enforce that right otherwise than by proceedings in the court while any person is lawfully residing in the premises or part of them. the tenancy (in this section referred to as the former tenancy) has come to an end, butthe occupier continues to reside in the premises or part of them,(2) In this section “the occupier”, in relation to any premises, means any person lawfully residing in the premises or part of them at the termination of the former tenancy.creates a licence; andis entered into after the commencement of section 69 of the Housing Act 1980;(2B) Subsections (1) and (2) above apply in relation to any premises occupied as a dwelling under a licence, other than an excluded licence, as they apply in relation to premises let as a dwelling under a tenancy, and in those subsections the expressions “let” and “tenancy” shall be construed accordingly.a tenancy entered into before the date on which the Housing Act 1988 came into force, ora tenancy entered into on or after that date but pursuant to a contract made before that date,(3) This section shall, with the necessary modifications, apply where the owner’s right to recover possession arises on the death of the tenant under a statutory tenancy within the meaning of the (1) Any reference in this Act to an excluded tenancy or an excluded licence is a reference to a tenancy or licence which is excluded by virtue of any of the following provisions of this section.under its terms the occupier shares any accommodation with the landlord or licensor; andimmediately before the tenancy or licence was granted and also at the time it comes to an end, the landlord or licensor occupied as his only or principal home premises of which the whole or part of the shared accommodation formed part.under its terms the occupier shares any accommodation with a member of the family of the landlord or licensor;immediately before the tenancy
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