In a shocking case, a landlord who attacked his tenant with a hammer, leaving him homeless, has been prosecuted by Wolverhampton council.

Inderjit Singh Ghuman launched a night-time attack on his tenant, smashed a front window, threatened the tenant and threw his belongings out the window when he fled.

Wolverhampton council and Trading Standards teams conducted investigations leading to Ghuman’s prosecution for unlawful eviction and aggressive commercial practices.

Ghuman pleaded guilty to two charges under The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 and four charges under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Furthermore, he also admitted guilt to one charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm lodged by the Crown Prosecotion Service.

Ghuman received two months for each charge brought by the council, to be served concurrently. He was also sentenced to six months for the assault charge, making his total sentence eight months. The sentence was ordered to be suspended for 12 months.

In addition, Ghuman was ordered to compensate his victims with £4,700 and complete 80 hours of unpaid work.

The court heard that Ghuman, a Wolverhampton resident, started harassing his two tenants in October 2021. He unlawfully gained entry to the property they rented and changed the locks. He arrived at the house with two men who behaved aggressively, pushed one tenant out of the property, and damaged his vehicle. The incident was promptly reported to the police.

Despite being warned that his actions were illegal, Ghuman continued to cause problems. He claimed to have sold the property and threatened to remove his tenants’ belongings, with several items later found missing.

An interim injunction was obtained against Ghuman by the council due to his behaviour. Yet, Ghuman brazenly broke into the tenants’ property with a hammer on the night of 4 November 2021 and made threats before being arrested.

One tenant was forced to jump out of the window to escape, injuring his heel, toes, hands, and shin during the ordeal. The tenants were subsequently provided a permanent place to live.

A council spokesperson expressed relief at the prosecution: “This is a truly terrifying case where innocent members of the public were harassed, threatened and injured by someone they trusted to give them a home. Ghuman clearly did not take his responsibility as a landlord seriously. The thought of a man armed with a hammer breaking through a window on a dark November night is horrifying. It is absolutely right that the council brought this prosecution, and I am pleased to see Ghuman has been punished for his actions.”