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Tenant loses cat after landlord illegally evicts her whilst she was out
24/04/2023
Landlord given suspended prison sentence at Oxford Crown Court
A Banbury flat tenant lost her cat and had her phone and TV smashed when she was illegally thrown out of her home during the COVID eviction ban. Despite warnings from the Council her landlord made her homeless, dumping the tenant’s possessions on the street in the rain.
That landlord has now received a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He’s also been ordered to pay prosecution costs in excess of £15,000.
Last Thursday (April 19), Oxford Crown Court heard that Amjad Ali Khattak, the owner of a ground floor flat on Gatteridge Street, removed his tenant’s possessions whilst she made a trip to a pet shop.
The offence was committed in December 2020 when there was a national eviction ban in place. It was witnessed by a police officer who captured key evidence on a bodycam.
Khattak pleaded guilty to the offence. In the case, brought by Cherwell District Council, the victim was identified as Miss P.
The court heard that to access electricity Miss P was forced to purchase old £1 coins to feed a meter. She had suffered an electric shock using the white goods in the kitchen. Khattak wouldn’t allow access to a council environmental health officer to inspect the electrical installation, but he entered without the tenant’s permission to inspect the fuse board.
Irregularities in the tenancy arrangement were also raised in court. Miss P’s deposit had not been placed in a protection scheme, as the law requires, and Khattak had not carried out right to rent, or reference checks.
Miss P’s cat Max went missing when Khattak made her homeless. It hasn’t been seen since. Miss P also found that her tenancy agreement had been removed from among her personal effects.
Nicola Riley, Assistant Director for Wellbeing and Housing, said: “This is a truly shocking case where one of our residents was made homeless with no justification; she lost her beloved cat Max and her phone and TV were smashed.
“When Miss P contacted us for help, we advised Mr Khattak that it would be illegal to evict her. He not only ignored this warning, but went on to disregard requests from the council and from Thames Valley Police to allow her to re-enter her home.
“At the time of the offence, the tenant did owe a small amount of rent, but she had clearly communicated to her landlord that she would be able to catch up with payments in the coming days.
“Responsible landlords will follow due process if there is a genuine need to evict a tenant, but this was not one of those cases. To make matters worse, the offence was committed during a national eviction ban.
“Our officer has spent hours supporting this vulnerable victim and working with witnesses so she could get the justice she deserves. Mr Khattak is now paying the price for his crime and I hope this serves as some comfort to his former tenant.”
A nationwide eviction ban was brought in from 11 December 2020 to 11 January 2021 in response to COVID-19 so that people whose incomes were affected by the pandemic were not made homeless.
Cherwell District Council say they will be monitoring Mr Khattak’s compliance with legislation in the future and could add him to the national rogue landlords database. A banning order preventing him from letting out property may also be sought should he repeat this offence in the future.
A civil claim by the tenant for compensation is ongoing.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam