City Hall has changed the guidelines on how police can deal with the eviction of tenants.
The new guidance includes a presumption in favour of tenants to remain in their home when officers attend an eviction, as well as an eviction being illegal when out of hours and not accompanied by a court-appointed bailiff.
The guidelines direct frontline officers on what course to take when a bailiff is not present, including instructing the landlord to allow the tenant back into the property and using the Report a Rogue Landlord tool.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan commented: “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.
“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.