Landlord gets longer prison sentence
for refusing to pay compensation
A landlord was jailed for 10 weeks for an illegal eviction after being found guilty of unlawfully depriving his tenants of their occupation of his premises by the act of changing the locks of the property under Section 1(2) of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.
Geoffrey Dillon, of Burnt Tree, Tipton, who appeared at West Bromwich Magistrates Court on July 4 was accused by Sandwell Council that he entered a property where he was landlord in William Kerr Road, Dudley Port while his tenants were out shopping and he changed the locks.
The court also heard that Mr Dillon attempted to keep their belongings to pay for rent he said he was owed and as there was no written tenancy agreement, he could act as he pleased.
The dispute came to the attention of the council when it was contacted by the tenants who were attempting to resolve the matter with Dillon.
However, the council claimed the landlord was uncooperative and therefore officials had to force entry to the property to enable the tenants to retrieve their belongings, some of which were found to be missing.
Dillon denied the charge but was found guilty and sentenced to 10 weeks' imprisonment.
However he refused to pay the sum of £4,400 compensation and was therefore sentenced to a further three month prison sentence.
‘Illegal’ tenant used house as cannabis factory
A landlord who alerted the police after finding the locks of his property had been changed was horrified when they discovered an illegal Chinese immigrant had been using the house as a cannabis factory.
Langfang Wei, aged 51, now faces deportation to China after being jailed for 20 months after being found guilty at Chester Crown Court for being concerned in the production of the illegal substance.
The court heard that there were more than 300 cannabis plants found in the four bedroomed detatched house in Meadows Lane, Saughall, near Chester. The windows of the property had been blacked out and there was hydroponic lighting and the electricity supply had been by-passed.
Landlord Carl Jones rented the property to another party in February but became concerned when during a visit to his property he found the garden overgrown and the locks changed. He is now in correspondence with his insurers to see if he is covered for £10,000 worth of damage to the house.
Oxford joins landlord registration scheme
Oxford City Council is creating a public register of approved homes to rent in a bid to force unfit landlords out of the area.
The Council estimate that there are approximately 1,000 landlords operating in the city who between them have more than 10,000 rented properties of which 5,000 are homes in multiple occupation.
The plan will copy other landlord registration schemes already operating in other areas of the country.
Oxford council has successfully prosecuted five landlords this year.
