Michael Woldehanna was punched by his private landlord in June 2024 after asking him to repair serious disrepairs that had not been fixed for months, reports Marco Marcelline
Waltham Forest Council failed to properly use its powers to tackle a HMO-licensed landlord who harassed and punched a tenant, the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman has found.
Michael Woldehanna was punched by his private Walthamstow landlord in June 2024 after asking him to repair serious disrepairs that had not been fixed for “months”.
Issues he highlighted to his landlord included mould, cockroaches, lack of hot water, broken radiators, and no working fire alarm in the property.
Michael, who now lives in a property outside the borough, had raised these disrepair complaints with the council, who inspected the HMO flat on various occasions.
Ahead of these inspections, Michael had told the council not to tell the landlord that he was the tenant who was raising concerns.
Despite this, council officers informed the landlord Michael was responsible for the complaints. This caused an “escalation” in the harassment that he faced from the landlord, leading to Michael being handed a no-fault (Section 21) eviction notice in May last year.
In June 2024, after the council served the landlord an improvement notice regarding the disrepairs, Michael was punched by the landlord in a physical altercation that involved the police being called.
In its findings, the Ombudsman said the council had not considered its specific legal powers regarding landlord harassment and illegal eviction under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. The council had also not provided advice regarding protections from retaliatory eviction under the Deregulation Act 2015 during its handling of Michael’s reports.
These failures, the Ombudsman said, meant the council had caused Michael injustice in the form of significant distress, stress and frustration.
The Ombudsman ordered the council to issue a formal apology to Michael, alongside issuing him a symbolic payment of £250 for the injustice caused.
The council was also required to create and implement a policy regarding its powers to respond to harassment and illegal eviction complaints by private landlords. The policy should specify which team or teams are responsible for identifying potential victims, investigating, and providing information and advice.
A council spokesperson said: “Waltham Forest Council accepts the ombudsman’s findings and has put the recommendations it has received into place. We want to learn the lessons when we get things wrong so we can improve the service we provide to our residents.
“Our discretionary and mandatory property licensing schemes have given us the powers we need to improve hundreds of homes in the borough over the past few years. In extreme cases, we have not hesitated to bring legal proceedings against landlords who do not meet the standards expected of them.”
Speaking to the Echo, Michael said he felt “vindicated” by the Ombudsman’s ruliing.
He said: “This is an important outcome not just for me but for other tenants facing harassment or unsafe conditions in Waltham Forest, and it highlights the need for much stronger enforcement and support.”
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