£100,000 slander payout to Landlord by Doncaster Council

Private landlord, Rob Bloor, has received a payout of £100,000 by Doncaster Council after he threatened to take the council to court over alleged slander. This was reported in the Doncaster Free Press yesterday.

Mr Bloor alleges the council had slandered him by making unfounded and disparaging remarks regarding his honesty to people who were looking to use his services to rent property. This he contests happened after winning an appeal over council tax payments post changes to housing benefit regulations. Previous to this he had worked successfully with the council providing homes to vulnerable people

However, even after the £100,000 settlement and agreed statement by Doncaster Council, Mr Bloor said he was still out of pocket by £200,000 and believes the council may well have spent as much as £500,000 in legal cost which they deny. Imagine how much money and time has been wasted and what the council could have done with this instead!

The case was dropped last minute after a statement was agreed with Doncaster Council (DMBC) which said: “DMBC is able to confirm that any allegation Mr Bloor was untrustworthy, dishonest or had fabricated documents, would be false. DMBC and Mr Bloor are pleased to confirm that this action has now been concluded to the satisfaction of both parties.”

Doncaster Council’s Director of Corporate Resources, Debbie Hogg, told the paper: “Mr Bloor issued High Court proceedings against the council which we have defended. As a result, unnecessary court costs have been incurred. At the eleventh hour Mr Bloor decided to withdraw his claim, as confirmed by the court, which underlines our view that this case was not substantiated and has now been concluded.”

Click here to read the full article.