At #TeamCES, we hate hearing stories about rogue landlords, because we know that behind every single story, there is always a person or a family suffering unfairly.

We’re proud to say that the landlords we work with are all outstanding landlords, who provide a vital service to their tenants, and it is a privilege to work on their behalf.

Whenever our services are needed, we know that it’s when all other avenues have been explored and when the tenant is at fault.

In this story though, it’s clear that the tenant was not at fault…

The woman found herself on the end of an eviction notice after she had complained to her landlords about damp and rats. They seem like fair enough complaints to us.

She was also subsequently left without heating or hot water for weeks.

The Council have stepped in, fortunately, telling the tenant that she doesn’t have to leave the property (although she probably would if she could with conditions like that…)

Further to the problems with the property itself, the tenant, Tasneem Patel claims that her landlord’s son labelled her ‘pathetic’ and told her to “calm the f**k down” when she asked for repairs to the boiler.
He sounds like a nice bloke…

This isn’t just hearsay either, as text messages have been seen to prove the tenant’s claims.
To make matters worse, Mrs Patel and her husband have a five year old daughter living with them at the property, and so to experience those conditions and intimidating language is even more of a problem.

At the first complaint for damp in 2020, the landlord, Clive Hollis, was only interested in papering over the cracks, literally, as he suggested wallpapering over the damp issue.

It gets worse still…

After two years of struggling in the property, rats infested the house, forcing Mrs Patel to get a pest control company out. Further to that, she claims that a kitchen cupboard fell on to her and her daughter, causing minor injuries.

The reward for all this suffering was a Section 21 eviction notice, sent by text message, informing Mrs Patel that she had just two months left at the property and would need to find alternative accommodation as a matter of urgency.

The nightmare was far from over, as the boiler stopped working due to a gas leak, leaving the family with no heating or hot water during the snowy period in the run up to Christmas.

It has been an ordeal for Mrs Patel and her family, that much is clear, but we’re pleased to hear that the Council have now stepped in.

Acknowledging that the Section 21 eviction notice was ‘invalid’, the Council have said that they will investigate the claims fully.

We just hope that Mrs Patel and her family find the solution they’re hoping for, which is probably nothing more than a safe and comfortable rental property to bring their daughter up in.
It isn’t too much to ask.

Whether or not that ends up being in their current property remains to be seen.