According to the website of Oxford City Council a landlord has been jailed for three months for unlawful eviction.
Mr Kenston McIntosh received three months after pleading guilty at Oxford Crown Court on 29 October 2010. Undoubtedly the sentence was aggravated by Mr McIntosh failing to attend a previous hearing and then being arrested at Gatwick airport while on unconditional bail.
Mr McIntosh refused to cooperate with Housing Benefit enquiries to prove that his tenant was residing at the property and then forced him to leave the property. The tenant was forced to sleep in an abandoned car for several nights.
We have also heard of another case in West Bromwich where the landlord received 10 weeks in prison.
In the past prison was a rare occurrence for unlawful eviction. Actually it was quite hard to get local authorities to prosecute cases at all. It is not clear whether these are isolated cases or a movement towards stiffer penalties for unlawful eviction. If it is the latter then we can only say how pleased we are that magistrates are finally taking this matter seriously.
It’s because of the article I wrote in The Guardian, with the assistance and co-operation of this very site. Isn’t it? (Keep up the good work!)