Tenants of Stoke Newington flats so small that toilet is IN the shower evicted 'after complaining over heavy metal noise'

 
Flat row: The entrance (green door) to the 'tiny' flats in Stoke Newington Picture: Google Street View
Matt Watts1 December 2014

Tenants of “tiny” studio flats costing £258 a week claim they have been hit with “revenge evictions” after complaining to their landlord about heavy metal blaring from a studio below.

One of the 17 flats in Northwold Road, Stoke Newington, is so small — at around 60 sq ft — that the lavatory is in the shower cubicle.

Several residents, some of whom were housed by a homelessness charity, now face eviction after complaining about noise from the Audio Underground studio where up to 200 bands a week practise from 10am until midnight.

One tenant said: “There has been rock and heavy metal music blaring all night. The noise is unbearable. Sometimes I have to cry myself to sleep. The conditions are cramped… But the noise has made it too much and when I complained I got an eviction notice. It’s definitely a revenge eviction. I’ve been punished for complaining.”

At least two tenants have been served with Section 21 notices, giving them two months to leave. Others have been served with notices terminating their tenancies.

The studio, which is owned by landlord Eliezer Schwarcz, has hosted stars including Eliza Doolittle and members of Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine during its 15-year existence.

“Revenge evictions”, when landlords evict those who complain about repairs or conditions, are not illegal, but the Government plans to make it illegal for private landlords to serve Section 21 evictions on tenants not at fault.

Hackney council is investigating the complaints and whether Mr Schwarcz has the correct planning permission for the flats.

Several tenants on housing benefit were placed by Two Step, a division of the Hope Worldwide charity and Will Horwood, chief executive, said it would no longer use the address after the complaints and would find alternative accommodation for those evicted through “no fault of their own”.

A spokesman for the Hackney housing campaign group Digs said that revenge evictions were “rife” in the borough.

Councillor Philip Glanville, Hackney council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “The council has been in contact with the landlord of this property and is actively investigating.”

Mr Schwarcz refused to comment when the Standard approached him at his £1.5 million semi-detached townhouse in Stoke Newington.

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