A Bristol landlady has been ordered to pay back thousands of pounds to her tenants after reducing them to tears by serving them an 'invalid notice'.
Last month, Bristol City Council said Lucy Sherry was found guilty of breaching the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 after a tribunal.
Her actions included serving tenants with an invalid notice to leave the property in an attempt to evict them, invading their privacy and arranging viewings of the property without notice.
The outcome of the tribunal shows the landlady also sent emails of a 'harassing nature' to the tenants, who were living in City View Apartments in Chancery Street at the time.
The tribunal found "there were two or three instances of emails sent by the respondent to the applicants later in June 2019 or around that time of a harassing nature following the attendance of the cleaner, principally with regard to the cleanliness of the property."
It added Sherry "became focused on the cleanliness and tidiness from her perspective as intended vendor as opposed to as a landlord" once the property was put on the market for sale.
However, the terms of the tenancy agreement meant she was not entitled to insist on the tidying up and cleaning for viewings.
The tribunal also heard Sherry handed the tenants an invalid notice to leave the property in an attempt to evict them in September 2019.
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The tenants told the tribunal they 'they left work in tears' after the notice was served and the 'that occupation of the property became increasingly tense and uncomfortable' afterwards.
The tribunal also found Sherry ignored housing advice giving by Bristol City Council on the matter and tried to argue its advice was "misguided".
Following the serving of the notice, Sherry also began to increasingly make references to the fact she was a solicitor. The tribunal concluded these references were made in the expectation the tenants "might be intimidated by them".
Sherry was ordered to pay £3,080 to the tenants and £300 costs by the First Tier Tribunal (FFT) following the hearing on June 9.
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