Phoenix Supported Housing's unlawful eviction of vulnerable woman 'part of growing trend' of Wolverhampton tenants being mistreated- council warns
The unlawful eviction of a vulnerable woman by the supporting housing company paid to care for her is part of a growing trend of tenants being mistreated in the city, Wolverhampton Council has warned.
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The council successfully prosecuted Phoenix Supported Housing CIC, former director Kimberley Bethell and director Davinder Singh Chall, for taking taxpayers cash to care for a young woman only to run up debts in her name and then unlawfully evict her when she complained.
The council's Private Sector Housing and Trading Standards teams investigated the woman's complaint and found a litany of abuse, financial slight of hand and eviction threats which led the tenant to contemplate suicide.
Council deputy leader and cabinet member for city housing Councillor Steve Evans branded the company shameful but also raised concerns about similar abuse of power in the supported housing sector.
He said: “The landlords and the company acted in a shameful way in this case. And unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident in the supported housing sector.“
He added: "We are seeing concerning trends where landlords are misleading tenants about the security of their tenancy, denying tenants their rights in law and illegally evicting them by failing to follow the correct procedures.
“We will not tolerate landlords misleading tenants in this way and will use our powers to investigate and take action, which can include engaging locksmiths to reinstate illegally evicted tenants, using court injunctions to prevent future attempts at illegal evictions and carrying out investigations with a view to prosecution.”
