A free law clinic at the University of Hertfordshire recently organised a seminar on housing and employment law.

The Hertfordshire Law School Streetlaw Project hosted a live webinar on Wednesday, August 12 with a leading housing solicitor from Shelter.

Students from the Hertfordshire Law School, based in Hatfield, gave advice and tips on housing rights and Shelter’s Ruth Camp answered questions from students on housing law. Among the topics covered were the tenancy deposit protection scheme; tenancy agreements; the landlord accreditation scheme; using a guarantor; and advice on steps to take in the event of receiving an eviction notice.

The Streetlaw project is one of the services offered by the award-winning Hertfordshire Law Clinic based at the University of Hertfordshire. The clinic offers pro bono advice to members of the public on a range of issues including family and employment law. Since April 2020, the clinic has offered free online advice to tenants, both students and members of the public, on housing issues.

Diana Kirsch, director of Pro Bono services, said: “Housing tenancy is a complex issue and it can pay to be informed. I would advise any student planning to live off-campus from September to listen to the webinar to ensure they have all the information they need before signing their tenancy agreement.”

However, the ban on evictions – which was brought in during the worst of the pandemic – and has now been extended by four weeks after it was supposed to close on Sunday.

This will mean courts can start to deal with evictions again if people have rent arrears, which many people have struggled to pay during the crisis.

However this does not mean that bailiffs or landlords have the power to evict with a court order, which a landlord must give three month notice for and then apply to the court.

It’s illegal for your landlord to harass you, lock you out of your home, even temporarily and make you leave without notice or a court order

A recording of the online event is available and could be helpful for any students planning to live off-campus from September.