How to deal with landlord harassment

Your landlord cannot enter your home without permission, pressure you to move out or demand money from you. This is harassment.

Harassment is against the law. The police and the council can take action to stop it.

If you need to talk to someone about how you're feeling, get support from Samaritans.

What counts as harassment by a landlord

Harassment is when your landlord interferes with your peace or comfort in your home.

It's still harassment if someone else is doing it on your landlord’s behalf, for example the landlord's friend, family member or letting agent.

Harassment can include:

• coming to your home without telling you first

• entering your home without your permission

• threatening or intimidating behaviour

• removing or interfering with your belongings

• cutting off gas, electricity or water supplies

• demanding money that you do not owe or cannot pay

• pressuring you to move out instead of following the correct eviction process

What counts as discrimination

If your landlord harasses you based on a protected characteristic, this could be discrimination. Protected characteristics are things like your race, sex, age and disability.

Check our advice on dealing with housing discrimination.

Harassment about rent arrears

If you have rent arrears, your landlord can contact you and ask you to pay. They can send you a letter saying they will take legal action if you do not pay.

It's harassment if they:

• repeatedly text or call you asking for the rent

• come to your home to demand money

If you’re not able to pay rent, check our advice on dealing with rent arrears.

Coming to your home

Your landlord cannot enter your home without your permission.

If your landlord needs to enter your home, they must give you prior warning before coming round. They must give you at least:

• 48 hours notice if you have a private residential tenancy

• 24 hours notice if you have another tenancy type

In an emergency your landlord can give you shorter notice if you agree to it.

If they come to your home without notice or enter without your permission, this is harassment.

Forcing you to move out

Your landlord must follow a strict legal process if they want to evict you. They must give you the correct eviction notice in writing.

If your landlord pressures you to move out, this is harassment. It could also be an illegal eviction.

What to do if you’re being harassed

There are steps you can take to stop the harassment.

Keep any evidence you have, such as texts or emails. Keep a diary of times your landlord harasses you, so you have a record of what's happened.

Evidence will help if you report them to the council or the police.

Step 1: speak to your landlord if you feel able to

Explain how their behaviour makes you feel. Ask a trusted family member or friend to be with you for support.

Only do this if you feel safe doing so. Never put yourself in danger by confronting someone who is harassing you.

Step 2: write to your landlord

Tell them what behaviour you want them to stop, and say that it’s harassment. Explain the effect it’s having on you.

Use our letter template to deal with landlord harassment. You can use this to send a text, email or letter to your landlord.

If you're being harassed by a letting agent make a complaint to them. Check our advice on letting agent complaints.

Step 3: report your landlord to the council

Your landlord must be registered with the council. If your landlord is harassing tenants, the council can investigate and order them to change their behaviour.

In very serious cases, the council can remove your landlord from the landlord register.

Find your council's details on mygov.scot.

Step 4: contact the police

Harassment is a crime. You can contact the police, if you feel comfortable doing so.

If you're in danger, call 999. If you’re reporting something that happened before or you’re worried could happen later, call 101.

If you need advice or support before speaking to the police, contact Victim Support Scotland.

Step 5: take legal action

You can get a non-harassment order or an interdict to stop your landlord from harassing you. These are court orders that ban someone from behaving in a certain way.

You need to go to court to get a non-harassment order or an interdict. Get help from a solicitor. You can:

• find a solicitor on the Law Society of Scotland website

• check our advice on getting legal help for free or at a lower cost

If you want compensation because of harassment, a solicitor can help you claim.

Moving out to escape harassment

If you decide to move out to stop your landlord harassing you, make sure you end your tenancy correctly.

Check our advice on finding a new place to live.

If you're not safe in your home and have nowhere else to go, you can make a homeless application to the council. You do not have to be living on the streets to be homeless.

You can apply while you're still in your tenancy. If you make a homeless application after leaving your home, you'll need to show evidence that it was not safe for you to stay there.

Check our advice on making a homeless application.