Any behaviour that makes you feel distressed, alarmed or afraid can be classed as harassment. This could be in the form of late-night home visits, name-calling, insults, bullying, threats, physical abuse or violence. You might experience harassment at work, at home, or when out and about. You should never feel like you need to put up with being harassed, that it’s just part of life and should be tolerated. It’s against the law to discriminate against anyone because of their age, race, gender, beliefs, sexual orientation, relationship status or disability.
Racial harassment
Racial harassment takes place when a person from one racial group offends, upsets or threatens someone from another racial group. Under the Equality Act 2010 harassment is any behaviour which creates an intimidating or hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for you.
Sexual harassment
No one should have to put up with sexual harassment. This can range from inappropriate remarks about your appearance to violence and assault. If you are made to feel uncomfortable by the sexual comments or conduct of your landlord or anyone else, there are things you can do to put a stop to it.
How should you handle the harassment your experiencing?
It is always a good idea to collect evidence to back up your claims. You can do this by noting down details of any incidents that take place in a diary, keeping any notes, letters, texts or emails sent to you, taking photographs of any damage caused and talking to other people (such as other tenants) who might have been affected by the landlord’s behaviour too.
Should you try talking to the person who’s harassing you?
Talking things through may help prevent any further incidents. If you feel that you aren’t in any danger, ask a friend or family member to come with you to back you up or act as a witness. Don’t ever put yourself in any danger though. If you feel threatened or intimidated by the person, it may be best to avoid a direct confrontation and get help from a 3rd party instead.
How else can you get help?
If you are harassed by your landlord or by anyone working for them, by a letting agent, estate agent, mortgage lender or any other service provider, you could consider:
- Get advice from your local Citizens Advice Bureau
- Speak with your local council
- Making a formal complaint to the person who’s harassing you, and any organisation they’re associated with (such as the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) or the Financial Ombudsman)
- Take action under the Equality Act
- Take legal action against them
- Reporting the incident to the police
If you’d like to talk about your situation, please get in touch with us.