CAMPAIGNERS are fighting for compensation for two tenants who were illegally evicted by a landlord who removed the front door of the property.

Niki Zaupa was left to spend the night in the unsecured flat when the landlord’s agent removed the door on his birthday and did not replaced it.

Since the incident on March 31, the landlord’s agent has stopped returning calls, kept their deposits and Niki has been subjected to verbal abuse in the local community.

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Now Living Rent Govanhill has held a demonstration outside the Annandale Street property, asking the landlord to meet them for talks.

Glasgow Times:

But yesterday the anonymous property owner failed to show – with Niki now beginning legal proceedings against him.

The 25-year-old said: “Around 8.30pm that evening he turned up with another guy and I thought he was just going to carry out some repairs.

“I couldn’t believe what he was doing. 

“He started to remove the door and take it away. I assumed he would have a replacement but I was looking outside and there was no van or anything like that.

Glasgow Times:

“I asked him when he would bring the door back but he didn’t reply, he just left and that was it.”

Niki and his friend Niccolo moved into the property on September 1, last year but were never given a lease for the property.

Niccolo went back to Italy earlier this year but kept paying rent and stored his belongings in the flat as he planned to return to Glasgow.

Niki, meanwhile, lost his job in a restaurant at the start of the last lockdown and, because he was a new employee, he was not entitled to furlough.

Glasgow Times:

Instead, he tried to apply for Universal Credit but was told he would need a lease agreement to present to the DWP.

After chasing the landlord’s agent, who gave his name as Shoaib Ahmed, Niki was eventually given a lease agreement.

But, he says, the document had the Annandale address in a different font from the rest of the letter and it was dated 2017.

Niki’s benefit application was rejected as he couldn’t prove his address and outgoings, leaving him in a difficult position. 

He began working for a food delivery firm but found it difficult to earn enough wages and fell one month in to rent arrears.

On March 31, the man calling himself Shoaib Ahmed arrived at the property and removed the door. 

Unsure of his rights or what to do next, Niki contacted the police and Living Rent Govanhill for help.

Evictions are currently banned due to the coronavirus pandemic and there are strict legal processes to follow before a tenant can be evicted. 

Glasgow Times:

A Scottish Government spokesman said temporary regulations banning the enforcement of eviction orders in the private and social rented sectors have been extended until September 30. 

The regulations apply to areas subject to Level 3 or 4 restrictions and are reviewed every 21 days to ensure they remain necessary to protect against the spread of Covid-19. 

With Living Rent’s help, Niki was able to rescue belongings from the flat, including a piano, and move them to storage. But the stress of the situation has taken a toll.

He said: “On the night the door was removed my girlfriend and I improvised by removing a door inside the property and putting it at the entrance to the flat with a sofa and chest of drawers behind it but anyone could have come in.

“It was very distressing and I was really anxious, not knowing where to go to for help.

“The police told me it was a civil matter but they are now looking in to it and trying to track down the landlord.”

Niki said that he was walking with his girlfriend on April 8 when an associate of the landlord approached him from a parked car.

He added: “The man came over and asked if I knew who he was. When I said yes he said, ‘You will see me soon’.

“They’re obviously trying to intimidate me.” 

Niki and Niccolo have a name for the landlord but they don’t know if it is a real name or alias.

They have never met the man or had any contact with him, dealing only with the property agent. 

Niki is now claiming compensation for items that were damaged after having to be left in an unsecure property, the costs of moving at short notice, the costs of storage for his belongings before he was able to secure another home and compensation for the inconvenience and distress of being made illegally homeless.

Glasgow Times:

He said: “I love Govanhill, I love this area, but ever since I moved to Glasgow I have heard how this side of the city is more dangerous and the ‘bad’ side.

“I’ve even heard it from Italians – but I didn’t want to believe Govanhill was like this. 

“So I want to challenge what has happened to us. I’m told we’ll never find this guy but nothing will change if we don’t try to hold people accountable.”

Sally Stimson, Living Rent member, said: “Niki and Niccolo have been treated appallingly by their greedy and exploitative landlord. 

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“When Niki approached Living Rent, he had no way of recovering his property, he was being intimidated and verbally abused in the street and was severely financially affected by his illegal eviction. 

“If the landlord had just issued a legal tenancy agreement, he might never have come to the attention of Living Rent as Niki could have claimed Universal Credit but after acting with such arrogance and disregard for his tenants rights he is now firmly on our radar. 

“He and other landlords like him won’t be allowed to get away with disregarding the law and thinking they can treat tenants like second class citizens.”

The Glasgow Times waited with Niki and Living Rent Govanhill in order to put the allegations to the landlord or his agent but he did not respond to the invitation.