A reverend whose house was sold without his knowledge has had his property returned to him after he was forced to resort to the courts to reclaim it.
Reverend Mike Hall had been in North Wales when he received a phone call from neighbours in August 2021 who told him someone had turned the lights on inside the property in Luton.
He drove back early the following morning to find the locks had been changed at his terraced home, which had been completely stripped of all furnishings, and a builder working inside.
“I went to the front door, tried my key in the front door, it didn’t work and a man opened the front door to me,” he told BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme in November 2021.
“I pushed him to one side and got in the property. I really didn’t know what he was doing there. The shock of seeing the house completely stripped of furniture; all furnishings, carpet, curtains - everything - was out of the property.”
Mr Hall called the police but the builder went to fetch the new owner’s father, who told him he had bought the house in July.
According to the BBC, the Land Registry at the time accepted fault and put his name back on the title, but when he returned again in 2023 he found a family living there.
Mr Hall went to Luton County Court to take possession of the home again this year. A woman, following proceedings through a Romanian interpreter, and a child also attended.
The public broadcaster reported that on Monday, Luton County Court judge Elaine Vignoli granted Mr Hall possession of the home.
According to the BBC, the court was told the occupants did not oppose Mr Hall’s application, and Judge Vignoli ordered "persons unknown" must pay his costs.
Mr Hall said: "I am quite sad that the [woman] has now got to find a new home for herself."
