The Issue
The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 prohibits the unlawful eviction or harassment of residential occupiers. It is a criminal statute. Section 1 makes it an offence unlawfully to deprive a residential occupier of their occupation of the premises. A lawful eviction of a residential occupier requires a court order for possession and, in most cases, enforcement by a court bailiff or High Court Enforcement Officer. Where no possession order identifies the lawful authority for exclusion, the exclusion is unlawful regardless of how it is characterised by the party carrying it out.
The Law: How It Should Operate
PEA 1977 s.1 — it is an offence unlawfully to deprive a residential occupier of their occupation. 'Unlawfully' includes exclusion without a court order where one is required. PEA 1977 s.2 — no court order for possession shall be enforced except by a court officer or other person authorised by the court. Police presence during an exclusion does not render an otherwise unlawful eviction lawful. The criminal liability under PEA 1977 is independent of any civil security dispute.
How It Operated in Lawrence v HNW Lending Ltd
Exclusion from properties began in January 2021 and continued through at least April 2026. Approximately 9 evictions are alleged to have occurred through CRG. No possession order identifying lawful authority for each specific act of exclusion was identified. Police attended multiple evictions and facilitated exclusion. The lawfulness of each act of eviction under PEA 1977 — including whether a court order existed, whether it was properly executed, and whether police assistance was lawful — was not separately tried before the Counterclaim was struck out.
"The question is not whether one court reached one adverse result. It is that the same failure of protection recurred across courts, tribunals, administration, policing and oversight — making the pattern visible only because the case passed through so many forums."
— Open Letter to the Lord Chancellor, 15 May 2026