A south London solicitor has been convicted of harassing her student tenants out of their Islington home. <br><br>Anne-Claire Kelly, 34, of Elspeth Road, Clapham SW4 was convicted at Marylebone Magistrates Court on 28 July. <br><br>The four female tenants, all students at University College, were studying for their May exams when Ms Kelly and her father removed most of the beds and furniture from the rented four-bedroom house in Shaftesbury Road, N19 at the end of April 2003. <br><br>Most of the white goods were removed at the same time and the kitchen sink disconnected. Some of the students’ belongings were removed at the same time, though some were later brought back. Ms Kelly also sent in a team of labourers to refurbish the house and claimed that she needed to move in because she had been evicted from her flat in Clapham. <br><br>The tenants complained to Islington Council, whose Tenancy Relations Officer intervened. But when the Council officer advised Ms Kelly to bring back the missing items and warned that harassment was an offence for which she could be prosecuted, Ms Kelly refused and invited the council to go ahead and prosecute her. After investigating, Islington Council decided to do just that.<br><br>The Magistrate (District Judge Hamilton) found that Ms Kelly’s story that her father had removed the furniture without her knowledge or permission, to be a lie and characterised her behaviour in court as arrogant and showing a contempt for the law and for other people. <br><br>Ms Kelly, who pleaded not guilty, was sentenced at Highbury Magistrates court on 25 August to 120 hours community service and was ordered to pay compensation to her tenants of £1,426 and the council’s costs of £4226.80. <br><br>District Judge Hamilton also expressed himself bewildered by Ms Kelly’s claims that she was living on Job Seekers’ Allowance and to own both the South London home she had claimed in 2003 to have been evicted from and a house in Peterborough that she rents out. Benefit rules prevent owners of more than one property from claiming Job Seekers Allowance.<br><br>It is understood Ms Kelly has owned some 4 properties since 2003.<br><br>Cllr Jyoti Vaja, executive member for sustainability said:<br><br>"This was clearly unacceptable behaviour and as a council we do everything in our power to defend tenants rights in such cases. <br><br>Ms Kelly went out of her way to make the house uninhabitable, and caused her tenants stress when they should have been studying. She abused her position as a landlord and lied to her tenants about her reasons for possession. <br><br>Islington Council will uphold the law to protect tenants and protect them from the harassment of unscrupulous landlords."<br><br><br>ENDS
Page Last Updated: 17 December 2009