Walthamstow resident Michael Woldehanna was kneed and punched by his landlord after challenging him about unfixed disrepairs

Reporting by Rana Rastegari and Marco Marcelline

Inset image: Michael Woldehanna says he was ‘bullied’ by his landlord for months

A Walthamstow tenant was assaulted by his private landlord after asking him to repair “serious” disrepairs that had not been fixed for “months”.

The altercation took place after Michael Woldehanna went to his landlord regarding complaints about repair issues at the rented property he was staying in.

Issues he highlighted to his landlord included mould, cockroaches, lack of hot water, broken radiators, and no working fire alarm in the property.

Michael says the disrepairs were blamed on him, with the landlord “refusing” to take any action to remedy them. His flatmate Kennedy Reo told the Echo that the landlord “bullies” both him and Michael, and had “never replied” to tenants when asked to fix serious disrepairs.

In a bid to get the repair issues addressed, Michael contacted Safer Renting, a specialist programme which aims to offer advice and guidance to tenants who are victimised by their landlords. Safer Renting issued letters to the landlord, informing him of his legal responsibilities in terms of the repairs.

Michael additionally contacted Waltham Forest Council’s housing team in regards to the disrepair issues. A council team inspected the house and issued the landlord an improvement notice in May, asking him to resolve several “serious” tenant safety hazards in the property.

Michael told the Echo that the letter Safer Renting sent “triggered” his landlord and he turned up at the property unannounced on Sunday 23rd June.

After arriving at the property, Michael accused the landlord of trespassing. In a video of the altercation seen by the Echo, the landlord then responds: “I bloody own this place, I’m not trespassing… I can walk in anytime I like.”

Michael then says he will call the police because he felt “threatened”, to which the landlord says: “Call the bloody police and I’ll f**k you right up.”

After being told to leave, he tells Michael, “you’re telling me to leave? You must be out of your f*****g mind”, while walking towards him and accusing him of not paying any rent. Michael can then be heard repeatedly asking the landlord to leave while he is followed around the property’s back garden.

The landlord, who is seen holding a pipe wrench in his right hand, can then be heard saying: “If you tell me to leave one more time, you’ll be picked up and thrown out.” After being asked by Michael to stop stepping on his feet, the landlord proceeds to knee him several times before throwing a punch. Speaking about the incident, Michael told the Echo: “The whole [thing] lasted for ten minutes, he was pretty much following me around, punching me on my abdominal side and back.”

Michael then called the police who arrived at the property and gave the landlord an ultimatum of either accepting a police caution for common assault or be taken to a police station where he would be interviewed and charged. In a second video seen by the Echo, the landlord is seen to verbally accept the offer of a first-time caution.

A victim copy of the caution was seen by this newspaper. By accepting the caution, the landlord also agreed to not contact Michael in future unless it was regarding property maintenance.

Speaking to the Echo, the landlord denied having assaulted Michael and said he “did not know” why the police had given him a caution. Aside from stating Michael had not paid rent for “five months”, which Michael denies, he declined to comment any further.

Michael, who is a part time student, was provided with temporary emergency student housing for two weeks due to safeguarding concerns after the assault.

Michael says he is now trying to find another accommodation because his living situation had “become too much”.

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