An elderly landlord who launched a campaign of harassment towards her American tenants has been fined £2,000.
Rosemary Hill, 74, of Mildenhall, East Anglia was found guilty of harassing a family from America living in rented accommodation following a trial at Ipswich Crown Court. The court heard that between October 2012 and June 2013 Hill made cruel and personal comments in phone calls and emails to the family who had moved into the property she owned in Long Road, Feltwell.
Terri and Dwayne Scott, both US citizens, explained to the court that after a few weeks of moving in they contacted Hill with regards to the fixing of defects at the property, marking the souring of the tenant-landlord relationship. It was put to the court that she may have been wanting to force the family to move out as she had found other tenants willing to pay a higher rent.
Sgt Dwayne Scott, who works as an aircraft repairer at RAF Mildenhall, explained that calls were made daily, sometimes multiple times a day. He said that Hill even contacted his senior officer to complain about problems with the tenancy.
In one email, she told RAF Mildenhall’s base commander that she wanted the family out of property, concluding: “Americans cannot and will not come into my country, wreak havoc and leave with nothing happening.”
The jury found Hill guilty of harassment, and following this Mr Recorder David Pugh handed her a fine of £2,000 and ordered her to pay costs of £2,500. He further granted a restraining order against Hill for 10 years prohibiting her from harassment.