Family Leaves Retirement Flat Amid Neighbour Complaints

A Bangladeshi man has agreed to move out of his retirement flat in Reading after he moved in with his wife and young daughters.

The family were accused of being 'neighbours from hell' at the David Smith Court retirement apartments in Calcot.

Shahidul Haque moved into the flat in July 2024 with his wife in her late twenties, and the children joined months later. The flats are for people aged 55+ and for single occupants only.

Southern Housing tried to evict him, and the story was reported by the Daily Mail.

A 63-year-old resident said: "They made my life hell for two years. It was horrendous."

Leslie Smith, who has lived at the flats for 12 years, said: "When they first moved in, the girls were running about the corridors, and you could hear them running about when they came back from nursery. It wasn't suitable for them at all. We had some of our neighbours die - there's been people carrying dead bodies out. Kids shouldn't be seeing that."

The eviction bid went to Reading County Court. Mr Haque argued eviction would breach his Article 8 rights and said he could not understand the original agreement because it was not written in his native Sylheti.

He has now agreed to move out in an out-of-court deal. Mr Haque, 59, said he had worked in Bangladeshi restaurants in London but claimed disability benefits for depression and sleep apnoea, which covered the £110.70-a-week rent.

On Wednesday 21 October a hearing dealt with court costs. A legal representative for Mr Haque argued costs should not fall on taxpayers, while Ben Lab for Southern Housing said it had made 'significant concessions' outside court.

Judge Catherine Fisher ruled it would 'not be appropriate' to award costs to either party. More information has been requested from Southern Housing.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter