Nightmare landlords from County Durham moved into their tenant’s spare room while she was still living there.
Vicky Hargreaves, of West Chilton Terrace, Chilton, and her partner Frank Bradley, served the victim notice to leave the property, before taking over the spare bedroom in early July 2023.
They only stayed for a few days, but soon returned on July 12, demanding to move into the property once again. Despite the couple serving the eviction notice, the victim was still within the legal notice period, and their actions breached the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, as they interfered with the peace and comfort of a tenant.
This led to Durham County Council prosecuting the pair, with Frank Bradley, of West Chilton Terrace, pleading guilty to the offence at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court in December 2023, and was ordered to pay a total of £588.50 in fines and costs.
Hargreaves, 73, did not attend her trial last week and the case was proved in her absence, with a recording played in court revealing that she told the victim that she did not care about being arrested, and her partner, Bradley, declared that he could walk into the property anytime he wanted.
Magistrates described the recording as compelling evidence, as Hargreaves can be heard shouting that she and Bradley had nowhere to live, with the victim replying that she was trying her best to find a new home.
Hargreaves went on to say: “You’ve got two bedrooms up there; we’re only asking for one”, and Bradley added: “If you want to shut the doors, I can still get in there, no bother at all.”
Hargreaves was ordered to pay £924 in fines and charges, and unlike Bradley, she did not plead guilty at the earliest opportunity, resulting in the case going to trial. Speaking in court, the victim said the incident had made her feel stressed and uncomfortable.
Michael Kelleher, head of planning and housing at Durham County Council, said: “The actions taken by these landlords were unlawful and caused the victim a great deal of stress. A landlord has no right to move into a property while it is occupied and must follow the legal process to evict a tenant.
“The victim should feel proud of the part she played in securing these convictions. We’re committed to protecting the rights of private sector tenants, and these prosecutions demonstrate that we will take action against those who flout the law.”
Join our County Durham WhatsApp community for all the latest news County Durham news sent direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN