Council tenant evicted for neglecting his home

A council tenant in Nottingham was evicted last week for the 'unhygienic' state of his home and garden.

Paul Cobb, 55, of Melford Road, Bilborough failed to bring his home and garden to an acceptable state. This was despite a number of warnings and his promise to the court in a previous hearing that the property would be in a clean and tidy condition in the future.

When Nottingham City Homes’ housing patch managers visited Mr Cobb for a standard tenancy visit, they found it to be in an 'uninhabitable' state of hygiene.

The property had not been cleaned or cleared in some time, there was dog excrement and urine throughout, a number of animals were also being kept inside the property in cages and the garden was also littered and in an unacceptable state.

Nottingham City Homes warned Mr Cobb about the state of his home and took him to court where he promised to maintain his home and allow officers to regularly inspect the property.

He breached this by refusing access to the property and failing to keep his home in a hygienic state. Mr Cobb also failed to report essential repairs, which has led to further damage to his home.

Following this breach, the courts granted an order for eviction. He has also been suspended from the housing register for three years and will be recharged for the cost of repairing and cleaning of the property.

Gill Moy, director of housing services, said:
“In Nottingham there are lots of people on the housing register looking for family accommodation like the house Mr Cobb was living in.

“As part of their tenancy agreement, we expect tenants to pay their rent, report repairs, respect their neighbourhood and keep their home clean and tidy. If a tenant breaches the terms of their tenancy agreement, they face the risk of losing their home.

“This case was extreme. The property was in a terrible state and Mr Cobb ignored the warnings and did not keep his promise to the courts - eviction was the only option.”