Ramsgate landlord prosecuted for unlawful eviction

Thanet District Council has successfully prosecuted a local landlord for unlawfully evicting a vulnerable tenant who’d been hospitalised after a fall.

On Friday 29 November 2023, Grant Rigby, of St. Augustine’s Road, Ramsgate, was convicted at Margate Magistrates’ Court. Following a three-day trial, he was found guilty of committing an offence under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. The offence related to shared accommodation above the Bedford Inn, 29 West Cliff Road, Ramsgate. Mr Rigby was fined and ordered to pay a victim surcharge and prosecution costs totalling £5,106.

The tenant became aware that he’d been evicted from his home whilst staying in hospital. He contacted the council for help and was able to provide a witness statement. An investigation by the Private Sector Housing team concluded that the eviction was unlawful and the decision was made to prosecute. The tenant passed away in hospital shortly after the eviction and before the case went to court.

Mr Rigby appealed the original conviction. However, on Tuesday 19 November 2024, Canterbury Crown Court upheld the conviction following a three-day appeal hearing. The council has made an application to the court for an additional £12,356.87 in prosecution costs. 

Cllr Helen Whitehead, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “There is an extraordinary level of sadness linked to this case, and it is one that has understandably affected all professionals involved deeply.

“To discover whilst you are in hospital that you have been evicted, and your possessions and facilities removed to make your home unliveable, must have had a significant impact on the tenant; the fact that he passed away knowing that he was unable to return home, in spite of a legal right to, is particularly upsetting.

“Two courts have now determined that the tenant had a legal right to occupy his home. The council’s Private Sector Housing team, as happened in this case, works with landlords to make their commitments clear before enforcement decisions are made; in this case, unfortunately, their advice and expertise was not listened to, and has led to this prosecution.

“It saddens me to even be writing about this case, but I am doing so to make it clear that we will support the legal rights of private tenants; in this case it is particularly important to remember the tenant, and acknowledge the stress he experienced during the last part of his life.”