Eviction notice served to tenant was 'invalid' say council

Tasneem Patel claims she was also threatened by her landlord’s son after asking for repairs to be done to her boiler, who called her “pathetic” and told her to “calm the f**k down”.

The 30-year-old, who has a five-year-old daughter, has lived in Norman Street, Blackburn, with her husband since 2018, but said since 2020 she has been experiencing damp inside the property which was causing her eczema and asthma to worsen.

Rats invaded her property (Image: Public)

She requested the damp be fixed but her landlord, Clive Hollis, suggested wallpapering over the problem.

After living with the issues for two years, Mrs Patel’s situation worsened when rats invaded the property last June and she had to get pest control out, and a broken kitchen cupboard fell on her and her daughter last July, causing bruising and cuts.

The broken cupboard (Image: Public)

To escalate matters, she was handed a section 21 eviction notice via text message in November, and told she would have two months to find alternative accommodation.

Shortly after this her boiler stopped working due to a gas leak, leaving her with no heating or hot water from the beginning of December, including through the freezing period of snowy and icy weather that month and over Christmas.

Mrs Patel said: “I went to the council about the issues and they came out in November, but then I received the section 21 notice.

Her gas was turned off (Image: Public)

“Then in December my boiler broke, and I had to pay for a gas engineer to come out, who told me there was a gas leak and shut off the gas, leaving us with no heating or hot water for weeks.

“The gas engineer cost me £105 so I told my landlord I would deduct this from my rent, but then he told me he’d cancelled my payment because it wasn’t for the full amount and said I was in arrears and would be informing the council.

“My daughter has been ill because of this, and so have I.

“It’s affecting my mental health, my eczema and asthma have gotten worse and then I received threatening messages from my landlord’s son, Dean Adams.”

Text messages seen by the Lancashire Telegraph show an exchange between Mrs Patel and Mr Adams in between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, where she asks how long it will be until an engineer can come out to fix the boiler, as the issue was an emergency and causing problems for her family.

Holes in the walls caused by the rats, plus damp (Image: Public)

Responses from Mr Adams included: “Lol. You should put this much energy into finding a new place.

"You have 11 days left and I need evidence that you can show you have been trying to find a new property….I think you’re pathetic and need to grow up…calm the f**k down.”

Mrs Patel said: “I have a young child and health problems and it's been freezing cold.

“I just feel very depressed and just can't carry on living this way.”

Cllr Damian Talbot, from Blackburn with Darwen Council, said he had been liaising with both Housing Needs and Housing Standards regarding the issues and wanted to reassure Mrs Patel the council was investigating the matter fully.

He also confirmed Mrs Patel did not have to vacate her property as per the eviction notice.

He said: “The council confirmed the section 21 notice issued to her was invalid and therefore she is under no obligation to leave the property at the date specified.”

Both Clive Hollis and Dean Adams were contacted for comment but failed to acknowledge or respond to our requests before deadline.