A Scottish landlord narrowly escaped a jail sentence this week after he removed the doors and windows of a pregnant teenager’s home.
Mr Simpson of Fife owned the property that was rented out to Michaela Landless but when she started struggling to pay the rent he decided he wanted to get her out of the home and took matters into his own hands. He instructed his three sons to remove the front doors and windows of the property while Miss Landless was inside. She had no prior warning to the action and became hysterical when the men started hammering on the door and windows of the flat. At the time she was eight months pregnant.
Sentencing Simpson to 150 hours community service Sheriff McNair said: “The law was put in place to protect tenants good and bad from landlords who took steps without following court procedure to evict them. Perhaps the most famous landlord of this sort was [Peter] Rachman.
“I don’t suggest your actions were anything on this scale. But Miss Landless was in an advanced stage of pregnancy when you and your sons behaved in the manner that you did. It must have been a very frightening experience for her. The court must make it abundantly clear that unlawful eviction will not be tolerated.”
Mr Simpson believed that as a landlord he should have had the right to evict Miss Landless but said he “was not very good at paperwork”. Of course many buy to let insurance policies would have enabled him go through the legal process easily. On a happier footnote to the drama Miss Landless gave birth to a healthy baby boy a few weeks later.