Illegal eviction prosecutions show that councils – long criticised for not using powers already at their disposal – are cracking down on rogue landlords.

The Local Government Association said that four councils secured successful prosecutions in one month alone.

However, it is calling for the legal process to be speeded up, to bring more cases to court more quickly.

Two of the landlords in recent cases narrowly avoided jail after illegally forcing tenants out of their home without following the correct procedure.

The recent council prosecutions include:

• In Birmingham, a landlord was prosecuted for illegally evicting a couple and their seven children from their home, changing the locks and shoving the family into the garage. The offence cost him more than £2,000.
• Also in Birmingham, a landlord was forced to pay more than £5,000 after illegally evicting a mother and her 11-year-old son, putting her belongings in the garden and changing the locks. When she regained access using a locksmith, the landlord had the locks drilled out, leaving her too scared to stay at the property.
• In Lincolnshire, a landlord received a suspended prison sentence after a tenant returned to the flat to find the locks changed and some possessions removed. The landlord said he thought the tenant had left the property.
• In Middlesbrough, a landlord was given a 12-month community order after forcing her way into a home and evicting a family with young children, bundling their possessions into black bags.
• In Manchester, a landlord was fined £3,500 after removing a family illegally and making them homeless.

The Government recently announced £5m of extra funding to help councils tackle rogue landlords while the Housing and Planning Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, includes provision for maximum fines of up to £30,000.

However, it can take more than a year to prosecute a rogue landlord and the LGA is calling for the legal process to be speeded up.

Cllr Peter Box, LGA housing spokesman, said: “Making people homeless by bullying them out of their properties, changing locks and removing personal belongings is not only a criminal offence, but also traumatic for the victims.”