Last year I wrote for Guardian Society about the reservations I had over Shelter’s rogue landlord campaign, which makes the argument that the number of landlords prosecuted by local authorities is low compared to the amount of complaints about bad housing that those councils received (By Ben Reeve-Lewis).
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Shelter argues that local authorities should be more proactive in their pursuit of prosecution where harassment and illegal eviction have taken place. It also highlights the rise in this kind of incident, which it says should have been long consigned to the dustbin of history. I agree with the charity on that.
Continue reading here…
Comments from the theEHP
Ben makes a compelling argument that Council resources would be better spent assisting tenants to take civil action rather than engaging in criminal action.
A few years ago I investigated a case of illegal eviction where a landlord changed the locks and moved the tenant’s belongings into storage while he was in hospital. I spent around a year tracking down the evasive landlord and preparing a case for the Magistrates Court. The landlord was found guilt, given a suspended sentence and we were awarded costs of around £500. Considering that criminal action can be time consuming with poor results, I think Ben has a point.
Please feel free to make comments.
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