A tenant has claimed he was unlawfully evicted from his West London home after complaining about mould and a mice infestation.
Christian Farinelli, 28, said he plans to sue his landlord Niyta Radia, and agent, Apple Estates, claiming he was forced out of his Westville Road room in May this year, which was found to be an unlicensed HMO in March, 10 months after he had moved in, in May 2024.
In a dramatic eviction by private bailiffs, recordings of which have been seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), his belongings were packed up and left out on the street after the lock to the room, which he’d had replaced on the advice of a renters’ union, was drilled out in May. Since then he’s been fighting for compensation he believes he is owed.
Mr Farinelli says the eviction was distressing and has left him angry. He said: “I feel quite numb. It’s like what happened has been forgotten. My brain is trying to suppress my emotions but every day I think about what happened.”
Ms Radia has denied any wrongdoing and claimed Mr Farinelli did not have a tenancy agreement. In a phone conversation with the LDRS, she also claims Apple Estates had no role to play in Mr Farinelli’s use of the property and that the 28-year-old was evicted for harassing other tenants and conducting commercial cooking in the kitchen – allegations he denies.
She also claims the property was only ever meant to be a holiday let despite screenshots of conversations that appear to be between Mr Farinelli and Apple Estates discussing an agreement over rent, and a receipt from the Deposit Protection Service – all seen by the LDRS.
Mr Farinelli claims Ms Radia evicted him after he complained about the state of the property. He also claims he paid thousands of pounds in rent directly to Apple Estates, which screenshots appear to support, despite the landlord’s claims the estate agents were never involved.
The private-hire chef claims his problems began shortly after moving in, in May last year, when he asked Ms Radia to remove mould and mushrooms growing in the communal bathroom.
Mr Farinelli claims that despite repeated promises to send workers to sort the mould, the issue wasn’t resolved until he reported the property to Hammersmith and Fulham Council and discovered it was an unlicensed HMO – something confirmed by the LDRS.
He said: “When I reported the issues initially it seemed like she was cooperating and even asking if I had got a quote but that’s not my responsibility. Then she said she could not afford to do anything because of the rent.
“I think she did not even listen to my initial complaint because she knew she didn’t have a licence and I think she was suffering some financial loss [due to me asking for issues to be resolved] but that wasn’t my problem.”
In what appears to be an email to Mr Farinelli from Apple Estates, the agents claimed they were unaware the property’s HMO licence had lapsed and rectified the issue immediately. However the LDRS understands Ms Radia and Apple Estates were fined £7,500 for not having an HMO licence.
‘I wanted to move out in the first week’
Mr Farinelli claims that in addition to mould, there were cracks in the kitchen, an ant infestation and a number of lights weren’t working.
He also complained about what he claimed were large holes in the ceiling and wires left dangling by contractors installing smoke alarms, and claims it took weeks to replace faulty doors.
Mr Farinelli claims whenever he raised an issue, he was either ignored or told to find a new place. He claims he was repeatedly threatened with eviction. He said: “I wanted to move out in the first week but because of the amount of belongings I had it takes me a lot of time and effort to move. I wished to pack and go but it’s not easy.”
He claims he complained about a mice infestation and threatened to withhold his rent until the mould was removed. Ms Radia did send out contractors, but the mould returned within weeks, he claims.
When he realised he was living in an unlicensed HMO, he demanded a full year’s rent back.
‘They tried to scare and intimidate me’
Mr Farinelli claims Ms Radia threatened to evict him during his 12-month stay. He claims this first happened almost three weeks after moving in because he requested a tenancy contract he claims he had been promised.
Messages seen by the LDRS appear to show Ms Radia asking Mr Farinelli to leave by July and saying the room had in fact been a holiday let. Mr Farinelli said he was never informed about this and said he found the ad on Spareroom – a platform that forbids holiday let ads, according to its website – advertising a minimum six-month stay.
When the LDRS approached Ms Radia, she said the flat was advertised on holiday let platforms like booking.com. When asked if she posted it on Spareroom, she said it didn’t matter where it was posted, as Mr Farinelli was aware of the property being a holiday let.
She also told us to contact Sjema Homes, which she claimed is now managing the property. Sjema Homes did not respond to requests for a comment.
Eviction by bailiffs
Matters came to a head on May 12 this year when Mr Farinelli was served a ‘notice to quit’ for recharging his electric scooter indoors. Mr Farinelli left for work that morning and asked his partner to stay in his room.
Mr Farinelli said: “I felt something was going to happen, that they were coming. They called British Gas claiming a ‘tenant’ had broken something.”
When he returned at 10pm, he says he found the front door locks had been changed. He called ACORN, a community union which helps tenants, who advised him to replace the locks. The police also arrived but later left telling all parties to go to county court to sort out the eviction.
Two days later, Mr Farinelli says the private bailiffs returned but this time he and his partner barricaded themselves in the room. Private bailiffs reportedly drilled Mr Farinelli’s lock and forced their way through. A recording seen by the LDRS appears to show one member of the eviction team shouting at Mr Farinelli and threatening to break his phone.
Another appears to show removal workers haphazardly placing Mr Farinelli’s belongings into bags and moving them onto the street. Mr Farinelli said he still can’t find some of his belongings and claims some items were broken.
Mr Farinelli said: “Most of my stuff, I don’t know where it is. I can’t find my clothes. The problem is the way it was handled. Some of my clothes were on the floor. Some were put in bags and thrown in the back of the van.
“The amount of distress this caused me was enormous. Most of my stuff was chucked away.”
When he called the police, they refused to attend saying it was a civil matter leaving Mr Farinelli feeling “scared and angry”.
‘I feel quite numb’
Mr Farinelli claims he was protected by the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 because he had rented the property longer than six months and was unlawfully evicted. He denied conducting commercial cookery in the kitchen.
He also claimed there are no regulations banning the recharging of lithium battery e-scooters indoors. Mr Farinelli said he is now homeless and is between sofa surfing or staying at his partner’s place.
The LDRS understands Hammersmith and Fulham Council is currently investigating the allegation of unlawful eviction, which carries a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment or an unlimited fine.
The LDRS also understands the landlord and agents’ fines over the HMO licence are being appealed.
A Hammersmith and Fulham Council spokesperson said: “While we cannot comment on an ongoing case, we are unwavering in our commitment to protect residents and investigate rigorously all reports of criminal activity by landlords in Hammersmith and Fulham.”
ACORN said it contacted the landlord to tell them the eviction notice was not legal and supported Mr Farinelli to regain access to his home on May 12 and continues to provide him with assistance.
They said they are helping Mr Farinelli get back into his home and to fight for compensation and will continue to put extra pressure on Hammersmith and Fulham Council to take action.
They said they organised a phone blockage of Apple Estate’s office – a mass ‘ring in’ where lots of people called the lettings agents at the same time, on the same day – and previously turned up outside Apple Estates and demanded the eviction be called off and compensation given.
An ACORN spokesperson said: “This is one of many examples of how ACORN are standing up to fight for ordinary people and deliver justice against [alleged] rogue landlords.
“It was the support from our members that made it possible and ultimately Christian was best placed to win by being a member of the union.
“We look to continue our campaign against [alleged] rogue landlords and to demand enhanced landlord licensing and regulation across the country to ensure that tenancy law is upheld and enforced. For now we will keep fighting and winning for our members.”
According to the Met Police, civil disputes, such as disagreements with neighbours, vendors, or debtors are generally handled through legal channels like mediation or the courts. This includes contractual disputes.
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