Illegal Eviction Results In £1,860 Claim For Tenant In Sunderland

This case had it all… the tenancy deposit wasn’t protected, an illegal Section 21 eviction, rent increases and a lack of repairs!

Mrs S.R rented a property in the Houghton-le-Spring area in the City of Sunderland, signing a 6-month AST with a deposit of £620.00.

During her stay, our client was faced with multiple repair issues and the landlord was determined to pick and choose with repairs would be carried out, with no real sense of priority or urgency. Sadly, this made the duration of this tenancy particular stressful and not as enjoyable or peaceful as Mrs S.R would have hoped for prior to moving in.

Once the initial 6-month term came to an end, our client was given a new 12-month AST to sign with a rent increase built in, which Mrs S.R reluctantly agreed to during a challenging period in the rental market.

12-months later and our client is served with a no-fault, Section 21 eviction notice with the landlord intending to sell the property, which unknown to our client at the time, was of course, served illegally and improperly.

Having focused her time on finding a new home and vacating the property under the rules of the illegally served eviction notice, once settled into her new home, Mrs S.R found Tenant Angels online. She wanted to better understand her rights as a tenant as she began to reflect on the stressful eviction process.

After reviewing all the provided evidence free of charge, Tenant Angels found that Mrs S.R’s deposit had not been protected. With the help of our partner solicitor, Tenant Angels secured a reasonable out of court settlement of £1,860*

We caught up with Mrs S.R. to get her final view on the process;

“The whole thing was really straight forward. I’m a little annoyed to find out that all of the stress of being evicted was illegally served in the first place, but I’m much better off now and I didn’t have to do anything other than send over a couple of documents, everything was done for me.

I also saw the property was still for sale, which has been on the market for over a year now. Perhaps the landlord should have got those repairs done and invested into the property more than they did!”

*All claims are handled on a no-win, no-fee basis