Piles of used needles found in evicted flat

East Devon District Council (EDDC) housing officers and cleansing operatives moved in this week to clean up a flat vacated by a tenant after a court granted the council possession of the premises.

After a 13-year reign of anti social behaviour, the Exmouth flat has finally passed back into the hands of landlords East Devon District Council – to the relief of council staff and long-suffering neighbours.

EDDC applied to the courts in March this year for a possession order to take back the flat in Cheshire Road, Withycome Raleigh. The order was granted, but the tenant was given 28 days to leave the premises or to appeal.

Last week, as the deadline for eviction approached, the flat was found with the front door open and debris – including drug paraphernalia – strewn around the living accommodation. There was no sign of the former tenant, Mr David Milburn, who had lived in the property since 2001.

Police were called to the flat to examine the contents, which included boxes of new syringes and piles of used needles.

During the court hearing in March, the Judge heard that there had been ongoing anti social behaviour related issues since the start of the tenancy. At first, EDDC’s housing team were able to resolve these through interventions and working with the Police. The problems tended to die down for some months.

But during the past 12 – 18 months trouble escalated, with allegations of drugs, drug dealing, shouting, fighting and damage to property.

Police and EDDC staff worked together to resolve matters but despite a lot of time and effort the problems continued. It was therefore necessary to serve a Notice of Seeking Possession and follow this up with court action.

The ousting of this undesirable tenant was another in a series of past and ongoing cases that EDDC is taking as it uses anti social behaviour legislation to end the misery for neighbours of people who show no consideration for those who live nearby.

Other evictions are in the pipeline and this week EDDC’s Cabinet Member for Sustainable Homes and Communities said she was determined to take tough action against tenants who abuse their tenancy and make life a misery for others.

Councillor Jill Elson said: “It’s not easy for councils to take action against tenants who break the terms of their tenancy agreement to the annoyance of neighbouring tenants. We have to be sure that we have given offending tenants every opportunity to change their behaviour and at times it seemed that this tenant might be doing that.

“Meanwhile, the neighbours have had to put up with more disturbances until finally we had no option but to have the tenant evicted. We are reluctant to force anyone to leave their home, but this was a case of enough is enough. We thank the residents for their patience and their fortitude.

“The vast majority of our tenants are good neighbours and law-abiding citizens. But any that break the terms of their tenancy agreements should take this as a warning that we will take action. This case is a good example of what can be achieved by working closely with neighbours and the Police”.