Letting agents who illegally evicted a tenant from an unsafe and unlicensed HMO have been handed a £23,000 Rent Repayment Order.

A First Tier Property Tribunal heard that directors of Ealing-based Roomrange (formerly Roomerang Holdings) - Courtney Harris and Sid-Ali Mohamed Outtouni, and their employee Zak Bouaichia - were named as landlords on the tenancy agreements for the property in Shakespeare Road, London. They were often dismissive, rude, condescending, and in general, very unprofessional in their dealings with the property.

The three tenants described a litany of problems with the house which was visibly filthy when they moved in. Some of the six occupants did not have beds for the first few days, and there was no washing machine or Wi-Fi. There was significant mould in the basement, the back door did not close properly, posing a security risk and allowing cold draughts, while the kitchen didn’t have any skirting boards, which led to sightings of rats.

Leaks

There were numerous leaks, particularly from the bathroom down to the kitchen, passing through a light fixture, while problems with the boiler left them without heating or hot water for several weeks during the winter.

Requests for urgent repairs were often met with delays, lack of communication, denial of the problem, or unhelpful responses. The agents would commonly attend the property without notice or warning, letting themselves in, the tribunal heard.

Frustrated

One tenant was so frustrated that he told the agents he was leaving and withheld £150 from his monthly rent of £900. When he did not leave as quickly as they wanted, Sid-Ali left a threatening message that the locks would be changed and a handwritten notice. In June 2025, the three men entered his room while he was out, bagged his belongings and put them on the street. The tenant was left homeless and lost some of his belongings while the firm had the locks changed.

The judge said: “The police, as is distressingly common, wrongly assessed the issue as being a civil, not a criminal matter, and facilitated, rather than stopped, the unlawful eviction on the spurious grounds of preventing a breach of the peace."

Photo: Google Streetview

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