20 George Street

This review concerns my former landlord, Anthony De Lacey, whose property I rented through Newfield Estates. My experience was extremely distressing and demonstrates serious misconduct and unsafe living conditions.

The landlord was verbally abusive, unprofessional, and discriminatory. He repeatedly harassed me to the point of tears, questioned my intelligence and sanity, made ableist comments, accused me of faking my disability, telling me to to “grow up” once I disclosed it. He made personal inappropriate comments, was sexist, and created an environment where I felt unsafe expressing my identity as an LGBT+ tenant.

He repeatedly entered the property without notice, which is illegal; I only discovered this via security cameras I had to get due to feeling unsafe. He also insisted on coming monthly, which is not allowed. He came to inform me he intended to evict me just before Christmas, was extremely verbally abusive, and left me in tears. A Section 21 “no-fault” eviction notice was issued in the new year.

The property was in severe disrepair. One wall was made of chipboard. Glass was smashed in a window when I moved in. The house was thick with dirt, dust, and cobwebs and infested with spiders, woodlice, and slugs. I would get piles of dead woodlice daily. He dismissed these issues, telling me to “embrace nature.” There was severe mould, damp, cracks, leaking ceilings, and fallen roof tiles. Windows were in poor condition and he refused to replace them unless I agreed to an illegal rent increase.

The boiler, dating from 1997, broke down repeatedly, rattled constantly, and was extremely expensive to run. Almost everything in the house either broke or was breaking during my tenancy, requiring repeated repairs. It was so cold inside I could see my breath, yet he refused to do anything about mould, instead instructing me to leave windows and doors open in winter.

He treated me with contempt and rudeness, laughed at the issues in the property, questioned my sanity, and refused to deal with repairs. He also frequently complained about past tenants. Neighbours later confirmed that the property had a very high turnover rate.

A medical professional has confirmed that I developed PTSD as a direct result of this experience, and I frequently experience flashbacks. I have extensive photo and video evidence documenting the damage, disrepair, infestations, and unlawful conduct.

The landlord and the agency failed to provide safe, habitable accommodation and allowed harassment, discrimination, and illegal conduct to continue. Tenants deserve lawful, respectful treatment and a secure home — none of which was upheld here.

The property I rented was in extremely poor condition from day one and became increasingly unsafe and uninhabitable during my tenancy. The bathroom to bedroom wall was made of chipboard rather than proper construction and of course became damage and degraded due to moisture. Glass was smashed in a window on move-in. The house was filthy — thick with dirt, dust, and cobwebs — and infested with spiders, slugs, and woodlice. Piles of dead woodlice appeared daily, and spider nests were present throughout.

There was severe mould and damp in multiple rooms, cracks in walls, water leaking from the ceiling, and fallen roof tiles. The windows were in very poor condition and were not replaced despite being necessary. The boiler, dating from 1997, broke down repeatedly, rattled constantly, and was extremely inefficient and expensive to run.

Almost every part of the property either broke or was breaking while I lived there, requiring frequent repairs. In winter, the house was so cold that I could literally see my breath. Overall, the property was unsafe, poorly maintained, and unfit for habitation.