A rogue landlord punched and later evicted his tenant after the council let slip it was him who had complained about conditions at his HMO. The council then failed to take any action.

In a subsequent report, the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman found Waltham Forest Council should have used its legal powers regarding landlord harassment and illegal eviction under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

It also found the council had not provided advice regarding protections from retaliatory eviction under the Deregulation Act 2015.

Serious disrepairs

The tenant had initially raised complaints with the council about serious disrepairs, including mould, cockroaches, lack of hot water, broken radiators and the lack of a working fire alarm. The HMO was then inspected by the council on a number of occasions.

The tenant had specifically told the council, though, not to reveal he was responsible for the complaints. However, council officers informed the landlord that one of his tenants was behind them, causing an escalation in harassment that led to him being handed a no-fault Section 21 eviction notice.

The Waltham Forest Echo reports that when the council then served the landlord an improvement notice, he punched his tenant in a physical altercation that involved the police being called.

Waltham Forest Council accepts the Ombudsman’s findings and has put the recommendations into place.”

In its conclusion, the Ombudsman ordered the council to issue a formal apology to the tenant, pay him £250, and create a policy regarding its powers to respond to harassment and illegal eviction complaints.

A council spokesperson said: “Waltham Forest Council accepts the Ombudsman’s findings and has put the recommendations into place. We want to learn the lessons when we get things wrong.”

The tenant now lives outside the borough but told the Echo he felt “vindicated” by the ruling.