The majority of landlords probably assume they have enough information about prospective tenants before they agree to let one of their properties, but in the case of one landlord, he had no idea he had rented a house to the family of a radical Muslim cleric, and it was only when the press began harassing him in search of information that the penny dropped.
The London landlord, who cannot be identified thanks to a court order protecting his privacy, was plunged into a Kafkaesque nightmare when inquisitive journalists made the discovery that the family of radical cleric, Abu Qatada, was living in one of his rental properties. As a result, the poor landlord suddenly became the subject of intense press scrutiny with reporters hounding him day and night.
How had this happened?
When he let his property to a single mother with four children, the landlord was unaware the family were related to Abu Qatada, but unfortunately, when Qatada was released on bail on 13th February this year following a lengthy battle fighting his deportation order, he chose to go and be with his family at the now infamous property in London.
Of course it wasn’t long before the press got wind of Qatada’s location and within two days, journalists were telephoning the landlord constantly and virtually camping on his doorstep, which meant he was forced to ask for help from the courts. Thankfully, by the evening of February 15th, a judge had imposed reporting restrictions to protect the landlord’s privacy.
So the next time you let a property to an innocuous looking family, ask yourself, are they really Miss or Mr Ordinary?
