London squatter wins £2,000 damages after landlord began demolition while he was asleep

Nicola Saia had been living in a flat at The Cricketers Champion News Nevile Ayling 2 minutes ago COMMENTS A squatter living in an iconic London music venue has won a damages payout for "harassment" after the owner began demolishing the building while he was asleep in bed inside.

Nicola Saia had been living in a flat at The Cricketers, in the Oval, Kennington, formerly a legendary music venue which hosted multiple high profile acts over the years, including The Pogues, Happy Mondays, early reggae pioneer Desmond Dekker and folk rock band, Fairport Convention.

Mr Saia, who had formerly stayed in the condemned building with permission as a property guardian, claimed that building owner Ravinder Laly repeatedly made threats that the roof would come down around him if he didn't get out, finally making good on his pledge in July 2023.

Waking up to loud banging at 9am, he said he went into his living room to find debris falling from overhead and a hole through the ceiling.

Mr Saia sued Mr Laly and his property company RSL Slough Ltd for harassment and unlawful eviction, claiming he suffered “shock, stress, anxiety and inconvenience” - and demanding up to £60,000 compensation.

Mr Laly denied any acts of harassment or unlawful eviction, disputing that Mr Saia was legally a tenant of him or the company at the time.

Nicola Saia demanded up to £60,000 in compensation Champion News The case ended in partial victory for Mr Saia at Central London County Court when the trial judge, Recorder Tom Shepherd, found that Mr Laly had harassed him by following through earlier threats that he would remove the roof over his head.

But he dismissed claims of harassment by cutting off Mr Saia’s WiFi and “trapping” him in the property by boarding it up, as well as finding that he was not a legal tenant of the flat where he was living and that there was no breach of the Protection from Eviction Act, under which the bulk of his damages claim was made.

Mr Laly’s “oppressive” conduct had begun earlier when he messaged Mr Saia that “the roof would be coming down”, said the judge.

“I accept Mr Saia’s evidence that what happened was that he was asleep and that agents instructed by Mr Laly turned up at the property and were indeed starting to remove the roof while in the knowledge that he was still inside.”

Although accepting that Mr Saia was legally “trespassing” at the time, the judge said Mr Laly could have pursued other options rather then taking down the roof - such as erecting fences or barricades around the property to prevent Mr Saia from re-entering while he was out.

Nicola Saia had been living in a flat at The Cricketers Supplied by Champion News “I find that this was unacceptable and oppressive, and was clearly calculated to cause alarm and distress," he said.

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