A resident labelled a “neighbour from hell” has finally left a one-bedroom retirement flat, more than two years after being ordered to move out for bringing his family to live with him.
Shahidul Haque, 59, moved into the Reading property in July 2024. His 28-year-old partner and their three-year-old twin daughters joined him several months later, despite the flat being reserved for people aged over 55 and intended for one occupant.
Southern Housing later began eviction proceedings, but Mr Haque said he would not leave unless alternative, larger accommodation was provided.
He argued that removing his family would breach his rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Although he has lived in the UK since 1997, Mr Haque also claimed he did not understand the tenancy agreement he originally signed because it was not written in his native Sylheti.
Now, more than two years after moving into the property, Mr Haque has agreed to leave the David Smith Court flat with his family under an out-of-court settlement.
The agreement has been welcomed by neighbours, who said the family’s presence had turned life at the retirement complex into a “living hell”.
One 63-year-old resident, who moved in about a year before the family, said: “They made my life hell for two years. It was horrendous.
“I never got to bed before 1am. There was constant noise, with the children banging around, shouting and screaming from when they woke at 10am until 1am the following morning.
Bangladeshi resident Shahidul Haque has agreed to leave the retirement complex more than two years after being ordered to move out
The 59-year-old brought his partner and twin daughters to the one-bedroom, single-occupancy flat at Reading’s David Smith Court, pictured
“Everyone on the wing was dealing with it. I went down once to ask them to keep the noise down, but they accused me of threatening them, which was untrue.”
He added: “Southern Housing did not seem to do anything. I contacted the management here around half a dozen times, but they were slow to respond.”
The legal action to remove Mr Haque is understood to have cost taxpayers thousands of pounds in legal fees.
Mr Haque previously worked in London’s Bangladeshi restaurants. While living in the retirement flat, he claimed disability benefits for depression and sleep apnoea, helping him meet the weekly rent of £110.70.
At Reading County Court, his legal representative argued that costs should be awarded in his favour, saying taxpayers should not have to “cough up” for the case.
However, Ben Leb, representing Southern Housing, described the claim as “nothing more than opportunistic”. He said the charitable housing provider had already made “significant concessions” outside court.
Judge Catherine Fisher ruled that it would “not be appropriate” to award costs to either side.
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Leslie Smith, another resident who has lived at the complex for 12 years, said neighbours were relieved that the young family had finally moved out.
“When they first arrived, the girls were running through the corridors,” she said. “You could hear them running around when they returned 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.’
According to a previous court submission from Southern Housing, Mr Haque and his family had become ‘a source of excess noise levels and anti-social behaviour’ within the retirement block.
Mr Haque is pictured at the property with his wife in 2024
Mr Haque had previously been demanding that he and his family be offered somewhere bigger to live before agreeing to move out
The court documents highlighted the family’s ‘misuse of safety features and generally rambunctious behaviour’.
This included an emergency assistance cord being pulled nine times in a single day in December 2024.
At a previous court hearing, Isabel Bertschinger, defending Mr Haque, said: ‘He is disabled and has limited English language skills, and that he is in receipt of benefits and therefore has a low income.
‘Disabled tenants are more likely to struggle to manage anti-social behaviour by others who live or visit their home.
‘To evict him from his home would have a serious and drastic impact on the Defendant’s health and wellbeing and therefore on his private life, and to prevent him from living with his wife and children would have a severe and disproportionate impact on his family life.’
Mr Haque previously told the Daily Mail that he would only leave the property if the housing company or West Berkshire Council found him somewhere else to live.
He also demanded a larger home, saying that the entire family were forced to share a single bedroom in the small retirement property.
The migrant came to the UK in 1997 and became homeless after divorcing his first wife and leaving their four-bedroom home in east London.
He was placed in social housing in Newham before he was transferred to Berkshire.
Mr Haque claims he applied for his second wife and his young daughters to come to the UK from Sunamganj, a city in the north of Bangladesh, in October 2024.
His children were born in Bangladesh but hold British citizenship, while his wife is in the UK on a spousal visa.
Southern Housing has been approached for comment.