"It is common ground that there is no heating system"
A Harley Street doctor has lost a £100,000 court battle with a tenant he charged £1,040 a month to live in a rat-invested ‘shed’.
Dr Shantha Godagama was told he had failed in a “very considerable” way to meet the standards required for human habitation by a judge.
Ex-chef Raymond Hanson is now entitled to nearly £20,000 in damages, while Dr Godagama faces a court bill of up to £80,000.
Mr Hanson stayed in a ‘garden flat’ at the back of the doctor’s £1 million home since 2016. However, he said it was uninhabitable and refused to pay rent.
Dr Godagama originally sued for £40,000 in back rent but was ultimately told by Recorder Jonathan Gavaghan at the Mayor and City County Court he was in the wrong.
Mr Hanson said the flat was effectively a “shed’ in the back garden.
It had an unfixed toilet bowl, dampness issues, a rat infestation and did not have proper heating.
Recorder Gavaghan said: “The flat in particular did not have effective space heating, was not properly insulated, did not have hot water, was not properly ventilated, did not have properly fixed toilet or sink and was subject to a rat infestation.
“That level of a failure to meet the requirement of human habitation is very considerable indeed.”
Mr Hanson accused the doctor of housing him in “degrading” slum-like conditions in the £1,040-a-month property in Cricklewood, north London.
His barrister Nick Bano said: “The kitchen is unusable, the electrical system is dangerous, there is a rat infestation, and the decorations and fixtures are generally in a very poor state.
“It is common ground that there is no heating system and there never has been, so the tenant has always had to use portable electric or gas heaters.
“There is no hot water supply, the shower is unusable… therefore, only cold-water washing facilities.”
Dr Godagama is an acupuncturist and his Harley Street clinic was opened by King Charles in 1988.
In 2001, he was invited to St James’ Palace to discuss alternative medicine with the then-Prince of Wales and is considered one of the world’s leading practitioners.
Originally from Birmingham, Mr Hanson has been unemployed for several years and told the court he suffers from serious health issues.
Recorder Gavaghan said third parties had inspected the flat and agreed it was in “a dilapidated state of disrepair and that it is not fit for human habitation”.
He continued:
“By December 2019, the toilet and sink were only partially attached to the wall and needed repair to be properly operable.”
“There was also a problem with rats in and around the unit.”
Mr Hanson was initially due to receive £58,567.80 in damages but it was reduced to £17,281.25 to take account of the £41,286.55 he owes in back rent.
The judge concluded that because Mr Hanson does not now owe any back rent, the claim to evict him from the property would be thrown out.
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