A despairing landlord has resorted to protesting on his roof after failing to evict a rogue tenant for the last 25 years.

In a shocking saga, Louis tells LandlordZONE that the tenant forged his aunt’s name on a fake tenancy agreement in 1999 while Louis was in prison which gave her the right to stay for 25 years. However, he says his aunt wasn’t on the property deeds, making any agreement invalid.

When Louis applied for a Section 21 eviction in 2007, giving her six months’ notice to vacate the three-bedroom house, the court ruled she could stay in the property without considering the issue of fraud.

He was left to pay more than £7,000 in court fees and has been sofa surfing and living in caravans ever since.

“I allowed her to stay there for 25 years, despite the illegal forged tenancy, simply out of respect for a judge’s ruling and my respect for the court system,” he explains. Meanwhile, the tenant has refused to pay a fair rent but has claimed even more in benefits, he claims.

Homeless

“I have had to find an additional £200 every month, while being homeless, to pay an interest-only mortgage to keep my home,” he adds. The tenant has caused damage to the property with unauthorized work such as installing a patio, resulting in damp walls.

When her ‘tenancy’ ended in May this year he sent her a notice to quit which she ignored. In sheer desperation he resorted to changing the locks.

“I didn’t engage in an illegal eviction but took necessary steps to remove an unlawful occupant from my property as the tenancy was null and void,” he insists.

However, the tenant got an injunction against him and is free to move back in. Louis has paid out thousands more in court fees and even ended up sitting on his roof in protest, but despairs of ever getting his property back.

Family friend Zoe tells LandlordZONE: “This is the worst case of injustice to a landlord you would ever see – he is broken. We know that this woman has been offered a one-bedroom council house but has refused.”