A rogue landlord who waged a campaign of harassment and intimidation against a young mother he wanted to illegally evict, has been fined £10,500.

Joel Zwiebel of Hackney was taken to court by Wandsworth Council and was also ordered to pay the victim £2,000 in compensation for her ordeal.

Another man, electrician and handyman Derrick Stuart from Newham whose malicious activities made the flat uninhabitable, and who has been the subject of a BBC Rogue Traders investigation, was also fined £1,500, plus £2,500 costs, and also ordered to pay the woman £1,000 compensation.

Wandsworth’s housing spokesman Councillor Paul Ellis said the men showed “a shocking lack of compassion”.

He said: “This was utterly appalling behaviour by these two men who waged a disgraceful and unforgivable campaign of harassment against this mother and her son.”

The two men, plus Mr Zwiebel’s company Interpage Ltd, were all convicted at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court of two offences under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.     

The court heard that the woman and her young son had lived at the rented flat in Queenstown Road, Battersea, for many years even though it suffered from damp, water leaks and serious disrepair.

The woman began to withhold her rent because Mr Zwiebel and his property company refused to do anything about her miserable living situation.

As a result, her landlord began eviction proceedings.

At this point the council intervened and negotiated an agreement in which she would pay the rent she owed and he would carry out the necessary repairs.

Mr Zwiebel almost immediately reneged on the deal and switched off her gas and electricity supply, even though it was the middle of winter.  

He then changed the locks so she could not enter her home.

It took her 18 months to get back her possessions, most of which had by that stage either disappeared or were broken.

The two men denied all charges but following a two day trial they were both convicted by District Judge Barnes of one count of harassing a residential occupier through the withdrawal of essential services and one count of undertaking or instructing an illegal eviction.

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