Man who locked 35 people out of illegally sub-let flat in Kingsbury handed jail term
Raid find 35 men living in a three-bedroom house in Brent (Pic: Brent Council) - Credit: Archant
A head tenant who changed the locks on a property that was being illegally sublet to 35 men has been jailed.
Ilie Florin Dragusin bolted the men out of a converted three-bedroom semi-detached house after the property was raided by Brent Council’s enforcement team in September.
Dragusin was one of three head tenants at the property in Winchester Avenue, Kingsbury, where 35 people were living in substandard conditions in an unlicensed HMO.
Brent council’s housing chief Cllr Eleanor Southwood said: “This custodial sentence sends a strong message to anyone thinking that they can get away with illegally evicting their tenants. The punishment is prison.
“We will help people in the private rented sector who are suffering from the actions of rogue landlords, subletters and agents.”
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Dragusin ignored four sets of warnings by enforcement officers not to change the locks on the property.
Willesden Magistrates Court heard yesterday how he showed no regard for the people he had locked out after removing their belongings from their home.
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The sentence is the second jail term Brent Council has seen brought against a person for unlawful eviction since licensing came into force at the end of 2015.
