Evict first, pay later: The true cost of taking the law into your own hands

Evict first, pay later: The true cost of taking the law into your own hands

Beth Donaldson & Kati Savtsenko, Property Litigation

In December 2025, the High Court in WLP Trading & Marketing Ltd v Adham Albalous & Anor upheld substantial damages awards against a landlord who took the law into its own hands. The landlord sought possession of their property by serving a Section 21 notice on two of their tenants that expired at different dates at the beginning of 2022. Prior to the expiry of the notice and therefore without a possession order, the landlord began pressuring the tenants to leave. The landlord disconnected water and electricity supplies to the individual flats, stripped and emptied the flats of the tenants’ belongings and even stationed a guard dog at the property to prevent re-entry.

The County Court described the conduct as appalling and awarded each tenant more than £150,000 for unlawful eviction, trespass to their property, destruction of their personal property, harassment, aggravated damages to reflect the distress and high-handed nature of the conduct and exemplary damages to mark a deliberate decision to evict without lawful authority and repayment of deposits. The court made clear that where a landlord evicts in the expectation that redevelopment or financial gain will outweigh the consequences, substantial punitive awards may follow.

The landlord appealed, arguing that the awards were excessive. The High Court rejected those arguments, finding that the trial judge had been entitled to reach the conclusions he did given the seriousness of the conduct and its impact on the tenants. Apart from a small reduction to one item of expense, the appeal was dismissed and the six-figure awards remained in place.

This case cements the importance of following the correct procedure when it comes to eviction of tenants and indeed acts as a stark warning that bypassing the proper legal route to possession can result in damages far exceeding any short-term commercial advantage.

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