A rogue landlord who was ordered to pay thousands of pounds for illegally evicting a tenant has lost an appeal against the conviction.
In November last year Lydia Suleaudu of Monteagle Court in London was ordered to pay more than £7,000 after a tenant came back home to find the locks changed and all his belongings were strewn across the front garden.
Two months after the tenant moved into a property in Southmead, he returned home to find a note on his bedroom door giving him notice to leave.
After reporting the incident to Bristol City Council, he went home to find the locks had been changed and all of his processions were outside on Ringwood Crescent.
At the time Ms Suleaudu was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay compensation of £490 to the tenant.
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She also has to fork out almost £5,000 in prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £150 after being found guilty at Bristol Magistrates Court.
She appealed the conviction and Bristol City Council has reported that she lost the case and was ordered to pay an additional £1,383 in costs.
Ms Suleaudu had claimed he was not a tenant because a tenancy agreement had yet to be completed. Therefore she claimed that she did not need to follow the legal procedure for eviction.
In November the court found that he was a residential occupier of the property and as such the legal procedures for eviction should have been carried out. This decision was upheld at the appeal.
The council's Rogue Landlord Unit investigates if tenants are illegally evicted from their home. Tenants may also be able claim back up to 12 months’ rent.
To report a rogue landlord or agent click here.
