A council has prosecuted two rogue landlords.

A Peterborough based landlord was prosecuted and ordered to pay a total of £10,126 (including costs) for illegally evicting a tenant from a property in Cambridge.

The city council received a complaint about an alleged illegal eviction and upon investigation discovered evidence that the tenant had been illegally evicted from an HMO.

The court heard how the landlord had unlawfully deprived the tenant access to the property by changing the locks and removing their belongings whilst they were absent from the property.

And a Cambridge-based landlord was issued with a civil penalty totalling £2,597 for running an HMO in the city, without the required licence. The landlord, who owns several HMOs throughout the city, had been running the property without a licence since legally needing to obtain one for it in 2018.

A Cambridge council spokesperson says: “No one should have to live in fear that they might be forced out of their home. We are committed to ensuring all landlords adhere to legal requirements. 

“These requirements are in place to protect residents from poor rental housing management practices.

“I’d like to encourage anyone that has any concerns about the condition or management of their private rented accommodation to get in touch with the council so that they can access the right support.

“We also offer support for landlords to make sure that they have all the tools they need to rent out their properties in accordance with the law and in a way that ensures tenants’ health, safety and well-being.”