The family were represented by Nick Bano of the Garden Court Housing Law Team, instructed by Luke Sheldon of GT Stewart Solicitors.
The tenants were a family who had fled the war in Ukraine. They were initially accommodated under the Homes for Ukrainians scheme, before finding a privately rented house in south London.
A few months after their tenancy began, the landlord began to ask them to leave. On several occasions, he made disparaging comments about Ukrainian refugees. Matters escalated and the landlord entered the home without permission and attempted to install a new tenant in one of the bedrooms. This led to a nine-hour standoff, with the landlord refusing to leave the kitchen while two very young children were upstairs.
When the police attended, the landlord presented a tenancy agreement that differed from the version that the tenants had signed. The tenants’ copies showed they had rented the whole house, whereas the landlord’s copies purported to relate only to certain rooms in a shared property.
On another occasion, the landlord came to the house with several associates while one of the tenants was at home alone. They forced their way in, stopped the tenant from calling for help, and removed some of the family’s belongings. The police attended again.
The following day, the landlord delivered letters to the neighbours apologising for the disturbance. The letters stated: “I made mistake to let the property to Ukrainian refugees […] it was a huge mistake and they are greedy monsters and super liars”. The tenants eventually left out of concern for their safety, and sought emergency housing from the local authority.
Initially, the landlord denied responsibility for the conduct alleged, claiming the allegations related to a different person entirely (his lettings agent). However, this defence was abandoned by the time of trial, and the landlord admitted his own identity. and he was eventually debarred from defending the claim.
At trial, the tenants demonstrated that their versions of the tenancy agreement had been contemporaneously sent to the benefits authorities and local council, and were accepted as authentic. The landlord denied knowledge of the ‘apology’ letter, but footage captured by neighbours’ Ring doorbell showed him delivering it by hand.
Regarding the illegal eviction and harassment, the judge awarded each of the three tenants a ‘nightly rate’ of £155. This was awarded for a six-month period, reflecting the length of time tenants would have occupied had it not been for the illegal eviction. The judge also awarded each tenant £11,700 (being the lower end of the middle Vento band) for racial harassment, and £4,400 for breaches of the tenancy deposit protection rules.
These awards exceeded the tenants’ CPR Part 36 offer, increasing the total damages award to £161,308 (including interest).
D & others v Mr Ning He, Bromley County Court (DDJ Gaunt), 21 November 2025
