A letting agent who unlawfully evicted one of his tenants from a property has been ordered to pay a substantial fine by Cambridge Magistrates Court.
Alan Croft, director of BestLet Property Management and Lettings, pleaded guilty to unlawfully removing the resident of the premises under Section 1(2) of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.
Mr Croft was told to pay a total of £4,315 as a result of his negligence.
Case for concern
The case revolved around a tenant who rented a room in shared accommodation which was managed by BestLet. The tenant contacted the council for assistance after the agent from BestLet entered his rooms without giving him the requisite 24 hrs notice.
Council officers contacted BestLet and told the agency of the legal procedure that must be followed to access rooms. The correct process of evicting a tenant was also provided.
Despite this, Croft nor his agency served the necessary legal notice to gain possession, nor was an application given to the court for an eviction order. What actually happened was that Croft gave instructions to an employee to change the locks on the property. In addition, Croft instructed the employee to put the tenant’s possessions into bin bags in the front garden!
The court also heard that BestLet had not protected the tenants’ deposit, another breach of law. This deposit had also not been returned.
Cambridge letting agent prosecuted for unlawful eviction
Prosecution
Mr Croft and BestLet were prosecuted and fined a total of £1,370, told to pay council’s costs of £2,408 and a victim surcharge of £137. Additionally, the tenant was given £400 in compensation for their hardship and damage to their possessions.
Kevin Price, executive councillor for housing at Cambridge City Council, noted, ‘council officers work with tenants, landlords and agents to ensure that the correct legal processes are followed and if there is a dispute we help all parties move forward.’[1]
‘Unfortunately, despite being advised by council officers as to the correct procedures, BestLet instead chose to evict the tenant by unlawfully changing the locks and removing the tenants’ property and leaving it in the garden,’ he continued. [1]
Concluding, Mr Price said, ‘we take matters such as this very seriously and aim to tackle poor standards in the private rented sector and focus our enforcement action on the minority of unscrupulous landlords and agents who do not comply with the law.’[1]
[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/2/local-letting-agent-guilty-of-unlawful-eviction