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Council slammed over eviction advice in harassment case

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An ombudsman has criticised Waltham Forest Council for failing to properly use its powers to tackle an HMO-licensed landlord who harassed and punched his tenant.

Tenant Michael Woldehanna had complained of mould, cockroaches, lack of hot water, broken radiators, and no working fire alarm at the Walthamstow property before contacting Safer Renting, which sent letters to the landlord, informing him of his legal responsibilities. Woldehanna also contacted the council’s housing team which inspected the house and issued the landlord with an improvement notice in May 2024, asking him to resolve several serious tenant safety hazards.

Before these inspections, Woldehanna asked the council not to tell the landlord that he was the tenant who was raising concerns, the Waltham Forest Echo reports. Despite this, officers informed the landlord that he was responsible for the complaints which caused an “escalation” in the harassment, leading to Woldehanna being handed a Section 21 eviction notice. He was punched by the landlord who turned up unannounced in June 2024.

Specific

In its findings, the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman said the council had not considered its specific legal powers regarding landlord harassment and illegal eviction. Waltham Forest had also not provided advice regarding protections from retaliatory eviction during its handling of the reports.

These failures meant the council had caused the tenant injustice in the form of significant distress, stress and frustration. It ordered the council to issue a formal apology and ordered it to pay him £250.

Complaints

The council was also told to create and implement a policy regarding its powers to respond to harassment and illegal eviction complaints by private landlords. A council spokesperson says: “Waltham Forest Council accepts the ombudsman’s findings and has put the recommendations it has received into place. We want to learn the lessons when we get things wrong so we can improve the service we provide to our residents.”

Tags:

Illegal eviction

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