A man who lived in a seaside cave has been evicted from his makeshift home of 12 years after the council discovered his unusual set up.
The bloke had set himself up in a cave at a spot on the Cap de Barbaria, located on the island of Formentera - the smallest of the Balearic islands.
Over the course of 12 years, he’d transformed the space into his permanent home by introducing a number of basic comforts, such as a table made from an old crate and two beds, including one comprising a mattress slung across two hammocks.
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He’s even constructed a shower (well, sort of) out of a suspended bucket, while a number of mosquito nets offered some protection from nature.
However, Formentera Council brought his Robinson Crusoe lifestyle to an end after discovering the cave full of rubbish.
After receiving word that a man was living in the cave near the Cap de Barbaria lighthouse, an official from the Regional Ministry of Territory went down with police officers to see it for themselves.
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The man was then told he’d broken the illegal camping rule by the Department of Environmental Management, and was forced to leave.
The cave dweller said he had been there for 12 years, with local newspaper Diario de Ibiza saying the home was ‘fully equipped for living’.
The Environmental Management Department gave him a period of days to remove his belongings from the cave, also ordering him to clean it.
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Over in the UK, a London landlord was recently banned from letting out houses for the next five years after cramming 40 tenants into a four-bedroom house - including one person who lived in a makeshift shack at the property.
Jaydipkumar Rameshchandra Valand was hit with Brent Council’s first-ever rogue landlord banning order after exploiting vulnerable tenants.
Valand was one of four slum landlords found guilty of pocketing £360,000 by letting out a four-bed semi-detached home in Napier Road, Wembley, to no fewer than 40 tenants back in 2018.
Enforcement officers were shocked to discover one tenant had been living in a lean-to shack made out of pallets and tarpaulin, with no lighting or heating.
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Councillor Muhammed Butt, the Leader of Brent Council, said: “This is the first ban we have issued since Brent was given the powers in April 2018 to ban serial rogue landlords under the Housing and Planning Act 2016. If Jaydipkumar Valand breaches his five-year ban, he will face a prison sentence.”
Butt added: “Brent Council takes a zero-tolerance policy against rogue landlords such as this, and we will use everything in our powers to hold them to account to safeguard our vulnerable residents.
“The new selective licensing scheme that we introduced on 1 August is part of our commitment to protecting renters’ rights and securing a decent standard of living for all residents. Landlords who rent out properties in Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green are now legally required to have a property licence.”
Topics: World News
Jess Hardiman