“I let Ealing Council rent my flat, now the locks are damaged and I can’t get back in”

Ealing resident Ahmed Malik owns a house in a quiet suburb of Hanwell. The two-bedroom apartment is where she raised her children and serves as an anchor to a community she’s known for more than a decade, but the homeowner says she’s been sleeping in a homeless shelter for months .

Mr Malik says he has not been able to access his home for almost four years after entering into a settlement with Ealing Council. During that time, the condition of the property has disintegrated, mold has taken over much of the apartment’s walls, the once well-kept gardens are overgrown with nettles, thorns and weeds, the door locks are damaged, the plaster is chipped and the empty rooms look like a derelict. building rather than a family home.

The landlord says he is heartbroken by the state his home has been left in and blames the council for not doing better to protect it. During the Covid pandemic, Mr Malik says he has reached an agreement with the council and lettings agency Longstar Estates to rent the flat for a year to a council tenant.

READ MORE: Ealing dad ‘fears for his children’s safety’ as ‘dangerous’ tree threatens to topple garden

The lease would start at the end of April 2021 and end at the same time a year later. However, more than two years after the agreement expired, Mr. Malik has not had his property returned.

He explained: “This is my main residence and they made me homeless. I gave them a rental contract during the Covid period, but when I wanted it back, they didn’t give it to me”. Mr Malik agreed to be part of a scheme towards the end of the pandemic which would allow the council to place vulnerable people in temporary private tenancies.

The landlord explained that he and his family had left the property to stay with relatives outside London during the pandemic and decided to help someone vulnerable through the scheme rather than trying to find a private tenant. He added: “It seemed like a good deal, they take it for a year, house someone homeless and then return it in the same condition.”

However, he was in shock after the lease expired and expected it to be returned only to wait some more. “I handed in the notice to quit and now I have to go to the courts,” Mr Malik said.

Mr Malik says the delays have left him with nowhere to go for over two years. “I couch-surfed for a while and was in a homeless shelter in Twickenham for months,” he told MyLondon.

The scheme Mr Malik agreed to is Ealing Council’s private sector leasing, which is explained on its website. Details on the web page included: “At the end of the tenancy, if you do not wish to extend the tenancy, you will receive the freehold property back.”

It describes the process as “hassle-free” and offers landlords “ongoing rent management – free of charge”. The page also makes it clear that any repairs to the property are the responsibility of the owner.

Mr Malik says the damage to the property during the more than three years it has had a council tenant will cost him tens of thousands. Moving into the property for the first time in years, Mr Malik told MyLondon he was “broken” by the state of his home. He blames the council for not taking steps to ensure his tenant respected his home.

“There are snails everywhere, it’s really bad”

However, thanks to the agreement, the council and the tenant also said he bears some responsibility for the condition of the flat, particularly the worsening mold problem. Speaking to MyLondon, the tenant said she was also looking to leave the flat.

She said: “I wanted to (leave) for so long. The property is full of damp, I haven’t had a toilet for a year because it broke, there are snails everywhere, it’s really bad. Between both of us, he wants his property back and I want out. I’ve been living in a hotel for three months (because) the ceiling collapsed.”

The tenant added that everything she brought with her to the apartment had to be thrown away after it was destroyed by the humidity. She added: “I’ve been complaining about the damp for two to two-and-a-half years. I will not be proud of a property where I had to go through all the furniture in the bin.

“We live out of bags because everything we originally had was destroyed.” The tenant says three months after moving in, the apartment was full of mold and damp, which she said made it “unlivable.” Despite all parties wanting the same, Mr Malik has had to go through the courts, which Ealing Council explains has been blocked by repairs.

“Recently damaged building required repairs”

A spokesman for Ealing Council said: “We regret the long delay in returning Mr Malik’s property, which he let through our private sector leasing scheme. The property was managed by a management agent and let to a council tenant.

“In any case like this, there needs to be a legal process that allows possession to be returned to the owner, to protect the tenant’s rights. Court delays due to post-pandemic backlogs have caused this process to take up to three years.

“After a court hearing was eventually scheduled, it became clear that there had been recent damage to the building that required repairs, so the current tenant was moved out to allow the repairs to be completed by the managing agents and by the owner, which further delayed it. Legally, the work must be completed before the possession action can take place.”

The spokesman added that a hearing was due to take place on Friday (July 5) and that it was hoped the delays would be “resolved as soon as possible”. Longstar Estates manages the property on behalf of Ealing Council and it is the council’s responsibility to evict the tenant.

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