← More from My London
A former Hillingdon Conservative councillor has threatened the owner of a local café with legal action for non-payment of rent, despite being indebted to the council on the same property, and in breach of his own contract.
Alan Deville, formerly a Tory-councillor in Yiewsley, leases Cowley Meeting Hall from Hillingdon Council and leases it to Theo’s Cafe - despite this being banned under his lease. In January, the Local Democracy Reporting Service [LDRS] uncovered council documents indicating that he had not paid Hillingdon Council any lease payments for an undisclosed amount of time - and the council planned to write this debt off.
The owner of Theo’s Cafe, Erhan Sahin, says he has received legal advice advising him to withhold rent to Mr Deville until his dispute with the council is resolved. However, despite being in breach of his own contract, and behind on his own rental payments, Mr Deville has threatened Erhan with "further action".
In an email sent to Erhan at 11:38 pm on March 6, Mr Deville said: “Good evening. As you are now 2 months in arrears you are in breach of your contract, if arrears are not paid by 13th march i will take further action. Regards Alan.”
Erhan responded by asking if the dispute with the council had been settled, and whether he would be refunded for rent paid thus far - given the lack of subsequent payment from Mr Deville to Hillingdon Council. In the 11 days since, he has not received a reply.
Erhan told the LDRS that he was “shocked” to receive the email from his landlord, who is himself in breach of contract and behind on rent. He added: “I was thinking, are you serious?
“You haven’t been paying a penny rent when I have been paying you £18,000 a year, you haven’t paid the council where your money should have been going, and now you are trying to get more money out of me? I couldn’t believe it.”
Erhan says he has been told by council staff that Mr Deville is still yet to pay Hillingdon Council any of what he owes. He was charged a peppercorn rent of £5,655 per year - it is unclear why he was given peppercorn rent, or how long he did not pay it for.
These questions have previously been put to Hillingdon Council. However, the council says it cannot comment for legal reasons.
At the time the council said "it is carefully reviewing the circumstances of this particular case and the lease arrangement, and is exploring all available avenues for resolution, including possible legal action".
The LDRS asked Hillingdon Council whether Mr Deville has yet paid any of his arrears, and what stage of recovery the council is at. Hillingdon Council said: “The council cannot comment on the specific details of the lease, for the legal reasons outlined in previous responses and commercial confidentiality.
"However, the council is continuing to thoroughly investigate this issue and is exploring all available avenues for resolution, including possible legal action."
Mr Deville failed to respond to requests for comment.
Cllr Sital Punja, Deputy Leader of Hillingdon Labour said: "The situation surrounding Cowley Meeting Hall is absolutely disgusting. You’ve got a former Conservative councillor threatening to take legal action over unpaid rent, while there are serious allegations he himself hasn’t paid rent owed to the council.
“What’s just as concerning is the lack of action from the Conservative-run council. If these allegations were about anyone else, you have to wonder whether the response would be the same.
“Hillingdon Labour have formally asked for an independent investigation into the financial affairs between former Cllr Deville and Hillingdon Council with regards to Cowley Meeting Hall. We urge the Conservative administration to take this seriously, because right now it risks looking like sleaze, double standards and one rule for Conservatives and another for everyone else."
Have a story you want to share? Email philip.lynch@reachplc.com or @pjlynchjourno on X.
Don't miss out on the biggest West London news. Sign up to our MyWestLondon newsletter HERE for all the latest daily news and more