'The tenant we didn't know about sublet our flats. Then the court took her side' The Times Jack Simpson, Senior Money Reporter 'The tenant we didn't know about sublet our flats. Then the court took her side' Two London property owners trying to sell up were horrified when a judge refused their bid to evict the rogue tenant installed by their estate agent new Hong Kong dentists Eugene Chan and Herman Lee bought flats for their children while they were in the UK Billy H.C. Kwok – Commissioned by The Times Jack Simpson , Senior Money Reporter Tuesday October 20 2026, 6.00am BST , The Times Listen 0:00 / · 8:28 min Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save When Herman Lee and Eugene Chan were ordered to give keys to a tenant who had been using their London flats as Airbnb-style lets without their knowledge, they couldn't believe the court's decision. The long-term friends who live in Hong Kong where they have a dental clinic, bought homes in London for children who were at university in the UK. They bought a flat in Angel in 2013 and one in Holborn in 2015. Most commented 1 Russian strikes 'leave half a million Ukrainian homes without power' Russia-Ukraine war 390 comments In May 2024 they decided to sell both flats and appointed an estate agent. It was to be the start of a two-year ordeal that ended up in court as they tried to evict a tenant that they say they never agreed to. They only managed to regain access to the properties this month, after spending ￡84,000 in legal costs and losing ￡87,000 in rent. Top stories 1 Clodagh McKenna: I always get up at 6am on holiday. I love the calm Inspiration 2 16 of the best safaris in Africa Africa Experts say that other property owners have suffered similar experiences with many high-end London properties being used as short-term lets behind owners' backs. Sometimes, as in this case, the only solution is to trigger lengthy court battles. What happened After a recommendation from a friend, Chan, 62, and Lee, 65, appointed Mohammad Ahmad Haqqi, the director of the now-dissolved Nest Estate Consultancy, who said he would try to sell their flats quickly. Advertisement When they failed to sell, Nest suggested renting them out temporarily while a buyer was found. Chan and Lee did not give their consent. Top stories 1 Prepare now for the inheritance tax mess coming for your pension Tax Then Chan discovered three payments of between ￡1,912 and ￡2,760 into his account from Nest. When he asked what they were for, he claims Nest did not give him an answer. He said that he assumed they were for a few very short-term lets arranged by Nest while it was trying to sell the flats. In April 2025, out of the blue, they had an email from a Ukrainian who claimed she had been a tenant at the Angel flat for the past eight months, and complained about Nest as a letting agent. We rented our second home to refugees — eight years later we can't get it back' She produced a draft tenancy agreement, a passport, and bank statements showing that she had been paying rent. The statements showed that she was paying rent to Nest for the Holborn property too. Advertisement Chan and Lee stopped dealing with the agent and Chan flew to London to visit the flat. He found suitcases belonging to tourists inside. Lee said: “We were in disbelief. As law-abiding citizens who have owned these properties for many years without any issues, it was shocking to realise this could actually happen.” An online check found the Angel flat listed on Vrbo, Airbnb, Booking.com and other holiday letting sites. Further investigation found that the Holborn flat was also being advertised. Described as a “central London gem”, it was listed at ￡302 a night, while the Holborn one cost ￡478 a night. Chan changed the locks on both flats. However, if a tenant has an assured shorthold tenancy, then changing the locks without a possession order amounts to an unlawful eviction. Chan and Lee's tenant claimed damages and issued an injunction relief order for each property in two different London county courts, claiming that she had been unlawfully locked out of her home and producing her tenancy contract. Advertisement It took the property owners two years to gain possession of the flats and cost them ￡84,000 in legal fees Billy H.C. Kwok – Commissioned by The Times Courts treat residential lockouts with urgency because they can leave a person homeless. Unless a landlord can present concrete proof that the person shouldn't be living there, they tend to side with the tenant. Court hearings are also listed at short notice, which makes it hard for overseas landlords to defend themselves properly. 'I'm losing ￡200 a month — it no longer pays to be a London landlord' A tenant cannot claim two principal residences, but because the injunctions had been lodged in two separate courts, the judges did not realise that the same tenant was making a separate claim elsewhere. Chan and Lee were ordered to reinstate her as a tenant and hand back the keys. Chan said: “It is a crazy system in the UK that is weighted to the tenant. We've lost large amounts to get back the flat we own from someone who has been profiting behind our backs.” Advertisement They appointed Shilpa Mathuradas from Osborne Law to get the flats back. Mathuradas said: “This is happening a lot now; we are getting a lot of inquiries, particularly in prime London locations and near airports.” The eviction In autumn 2025 the owners issued a section 8 eviction notice against the tenant for each property. They had grounds to evict her because she had not paid rent for two months. The Renters' Rights Act, which was introduced in May this year, has extended the requirement to three months. If a tenant stays after this, the landlord has to issue a possession order. It takes landlords an average of six months to get a possession order and if the tenant hasn't moved by that point, a court bailiff needs to be instructed, who can legally remove a tenant and change the locks. Mathuradas applied for possession orders at a single court, with a date of February 2026 for the hearing. But after initial challenges, it wasn't until July and August that the judge granted the orders. What the Renters' Rights Act means for tenants and landlords Advertisement The tenant was ordered to pay ￡53,000 in rent arrears for the Holborn property and ￡35,000 for the Angel property, and a combined total of ￡84,000 in legal costs. Mathuradas says that the chance of recovering the full amount, or any money, in cases like this is slim because the tenants tend to disappear. Before Chan and Lee were granted their request to the High Court for bailiffs, the concierge alerted them that furniture was being removed from the flat. The owners claim the police had to be called to stop anything being taken. Chan and Lee officially got their flats back on October 1 and 12. Chan said: “It's been an awful experience. We are law-abiding citizens and have just been trapped in this nightmare for two years. This can't be how the law works in England; we feel like we've had no protection.” The subletting problem Tenants who sublet out their rooms or flats for short terms are fairly common. Direct Line Business Insurance said that 68 per cent of the UK landlords it spoke to for a 2025 survey had discovered tenants subletting properties without permission, with one in five spotting listings on SpareRoom, Airbnb or Gumtree. While this is often done casually, organised groups are thought to be targeting high-end homes for huge profits. Evren Ergin from the property valuation platform ValuQ said: “I have seen this happen in prime central London flats. In one case, people took control of an overseas owner's property and began renting it out without their knowledge. The Trendline newsletter The numbers you need to make sense of modern Britain, written by our award-winning data team. Sign up with one click You've successfully signed up to the The Trendline newsletter Explore our newsletters An error occurred. Please use the link below. The Trendline newsletter Explore our newsletters “When the owner found out, they said they would leave for ￡50,000 or fight every step through the courts. The paperwork is what makes these cases so hard to unwind.” Marc Von Grundherr from the London estate agency Benham and Reeves said that there had been a big increase in illegal subletting over the past three years. He said: “The problem is that the courts are so bad at dealing with unscrupulous people who know how to exploit the rules.” The Cabinet Office estimates that up to 5,800 council and housing association properties could be illegally sublet through short-term rental platforms and has teamed up with Airbnb, which is sharing its data on suspected illegal sublets. Some 470 cases have already been uncovered. Cabinet Office minister Satvir Kaur said: “We're sending a crystal clear message: if you're cheating the social housing system, we will find you and we will prosecute you. We are calling for other short-term letting platforms and councils to follow this lead.” Lisa Marçais from Airbnb said: “We're proud to have driven the first ever data-sharing agreement of this kind in partnership with the Cabinet Office and local authorities across the country, but to truly tackle this problem we need the entire short-term rental industry to participate.” The Times attempted to contact Haqqi and Chan and Lee's tenant for comment. Money Mortgages Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save