Landlord jailed for trying to evict vulnerable tenant

A landlord ho tried to evict an elderly tenant from a rundown flat through a campaign of harassment has been jailed for 3 months; in the 1st case of its kind brought by Liverpool City Council.

Violet Musoke, aged 61, of Stanza Court in Everton, attempted to force 80 year old Dennis Adderley to leave his home of 34 years, on Picton Road in Wavertree. He is a 'regulated tenant' under the Rent Act 1977, which means he has a secure tenancy. In order to evict a regulated tenant a possession order needs to be obtained from the Court, which will only be granted if the landlord can prove a legal reason to evict.

In November 2017, the landlord and members of her family turned up and gained access to the property under the false pretence of being there to carry out repairs. They had with them blow up mattresses, suitcases and chairs, and after entering the tenant's home refused to leave in an attempt to harass him into leaving his home. Mr Adderley became distressed and intimidated and eventually the Police were called. The defendant and other persons at the property only left when they were threatened with arrest.

It came after officers from Liverpool City Council's Landlord Licensing team had served an improvement notice on the landlord after finding outdated electrics, damp and fire hazards, as well as dumped rubbish in the back garden, during an inspection.

Following the landlord pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching an improvement notice, failing to comply with 2 legal notices and harassment of Mr Adderley intending him to give up occupation of his property, the matter was back before the Court for sentencing.

District Judge Andrew Shaw said Ms Musoke was guilty of:- "heartless and selfish" behaviour, of treating Mr Adderley:- "as an inconvenience, not a person" and said she had:- "tried to squeeze him out by direct action." He also ordered her to pay him ₤500 compensation.

Deputy Mayor, Councillor Lynnie Hinnigan, said:- "This is a shocking case in which the landlord attempted to intimidate a vulnerable elderly man into leaving their property which had been their family home for decades.  It highlights the importance of our Landlord Licensing scheme, which brought this property on to our radar and led to us serving an improvement notice.  We are determined to crackdown on rogue landlords and improve life for those tenants living in properties which aren't up to standard.  We are starting to see Landlord Licensing making a real difference to the lives of communities across Liverpool."

The City Council is carrying out the improvement work and will bill the landlord for the work, and also review her landlord licence.

Landlord Licensing was launched in Liverpool in 2015 and almost 45,000 licences have now been issued, with a further 9,000 unlicensed properties reported. To date, around 75% of licensed properties inspected have found to be non compliant on the 1st visit and in some cases closed down due to hazards such as dangerous electrics and problems with fire doors.

Since the scheme was launched, the City Council has served 1,700 legal notices, brought 118 successful prosecutions, issued 146 cautions and a further 116 formal written warnings. Almost 1,300 cases are currently being considered for prosecution.

Tenants can check if their rented property is licensed at:- Liverpool.Gov.UK/LandLordLicensing.

Cutting edge 'care hub' takes shape

THE transformation of a Liverpool care hub that will allow people with learning disabilities to live within the local community is nearing completion. Building and refurbishment work at Besford House in Belle Vale is now entering its final phase. When it re-opens in August it will be a state of the art facility.

Liverpool City Council and NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) successfully bid to NHS England for ₤850,000 to create the modern accommodation for people with autism and learning difficulties. The investment is providing a complete refurbishment of the 16 bed centre, including decorating, new carpet and flooring, new bathroom suites, kitchens and furniture. But the transformation is about much more than upgrading the fixtures and fittings.

The centre will become a model for 'step up, step down' care. This means it will allow people to 'step down' from a Hospital setting when they are ready to live more independent lives. At the same time it will allow people already living within the community to 'step up' into the facility should they need more support.

When it re-opens, Besford House will help to free up valuable Hospital beds, relieving some of the pressures facing the NHS and cutting costs.

The Council and CCG have joined forces with City based social care charity Alternative Futures Group (AFG), who will run the centre and provide a range of services for people with learning disabilities and mental health issues. Besford House consists of 3 bungalows, which have previously been used for short term accommodation and respite.

AFG has been involved in the design of the new centre to help create a layout that is tailor made for the people who will use the service. Crucially, the views of service users and their families have been taken into account as well.

A report to the City Council's Cabinet says of the plans:- "The aim of the scheme is to ensure that local needs are met and that the site is an integral part of the local community. Those that live and work in the area are familiar with people that have used the service and this will help us to deliver effective and safe care in the community for future service users."

The improvements are part of a much larger ₤30 million plan to transform adult social care services in Liverpool, which also includes 3 new Dementia Care Centres.

Council and AFG chiefs visited the centre this week to see how the work was coming along.

Liverpool City Council's Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, Cllr Paul Brant, said:- "The improvements at Besford House will provide a fantastic new centre for people with learning disabilities. The facility will be pivotal in allowing people to retain as much independence as they possibly can whilst still receiving the support they need. We are looking forward to working with Alternative Futures Group to see this exciting new centre take shape."

AFG Regional Director Kathy Farmer added:- "We're delighted to be working closely with Liverpool City Council on Besford House. It's an example of the way that AFG is working innovatively in the community to provide a wide range of leading-edge and bespoke care services delivering life-enhancing person-centred support to people with a diverse range of care needs. We're really pleased to be in the vanguard of the Transforming Care agenda with Liverpool City Council."

Jane Lunt, who is Chief Nurse at NHS Liverpool CCG added:- "Providing the best quality care possible lies at the heart of everything we do, and this new centre will allow us to do exactly that. It aligns with the aims of our local Transforming Care programme and will give our service-users greater choice and flexibility about the type of support they receive, allowing people to retain or work towards their independence whilst having the reassurance that support is always there when they need it."