A London landlord has been ordered to pay her former tenants £14,400 after a tribunal found her guilty of orchestrating a 'vindictive' campaign of harassment, attempted unlawful eviction, and using violence to secure entry.
In a recent decision by the First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber, landlord Gul Rosie Sabag and her father were found to have acted in a joint enterprise on 21 June 2025 to illegally force the 'vulnerable' Mensah family out of a four-bedroom rental property on Empire Avenue, Camden, North London.
The tribunal heard that Ms. Sabag, a risk nurse at Kings College London, relentlessly pressured the tenants to leave the property that day, completely bypassing the legal requirement for a court order. In her attempts to force them out, she unleashed a string of unjustified threats targeting the careers of two of the tenants, who were young accountants.
Ms. Sabag falsely claimed they had a County Court Judgment (CCJ) and threatened to report them to their prospective employers, the Law Society, and the Financial Regulatory Authority if they did not vacate by 2pm. She also sent text messages threatening to drain their deposit with legal fees and fabricated a last-minute allegation that the property smelled of cannabis.
The harassment culminated in a physical confrontation when Ms. Sabag's father arrived at the property to demand the keys. According to video evidence presented at the hearing, her father repeatedly tried to forcefully push his way into the house while one of the tenants used his foot to block the door. During the altercation, he is alleged to have shouted at the tenants and threatened them by stating, 'I will come in with 10 f*cking people,' before police were called to the scene. The underlying motive for her behaviour appears to be financial distress tied to an acrimonious divorce, the judge added.
The judge said: 'She considered that the property was hers to treat as she wanted. She was encouraged in this view by her father. Both acted in cynical disregard for the right of the tenants. The Tribunal is satisfied that these were vindictive threats... which was extremely unpleasant for these vulnerable tenants. They faced homelessness. Unjustified threats were made to make unjustified complaints to their employers and/or professional bodies. Bilshan and Hezron were particularly concerned about the impact that this might have on their careers. Any criminal charges or police involvement could have had severe consequences for them. They felt intimidated and unsafe. The weekend of 21/22 June 2025 was extremely stressful for them. Any tenant is entitled to quiet enjoyment of their home.'
In what the tribunal described as 'vindictive' conduct, Ms. Sabag also actively sabotaged the tenants' efforts to move to a new home. When contacted by the tenants' prospective new landlord for a reference, she provided a misleadingly negative account, claiming their rent payments were 'ad hoc'. The tenants were considered as 'vulnerable' having previously spent eight years living in temporary accommodation provided by the Homeless Persons Unit.
The tribunal concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Sabag and her father committed three criminal offences: violence for securing entry, unlawful eviction, and harassment. The judge noted that they acted with a 'cynical disregard' for the tenants' rights, leaving the vulnerable family feeling intimidated, highly stressed, and unsafe.
As a penalty for the severe offences, the tribunal placed the case in the 'most serious category' and issued a Rent Repayment Order. Ms. Sabag has been ordered to repay £14,400 - equating to 50% of the rent the tenants paid over a 12-month period—and must also reimburse their £341 in tribunal fees by 30 June 2026. Ultimately, her attempts to reclaim the house were futile, as the property remained empty after the tenants left and was repossessed by the bank in September 2025.
