A “neighbour from hell” migrant has finally moved out of a retirement home in Reading after two years of what has been described as torment for other residents.
Shahidul Haque and his family had occupied the one-bedroom accommodation since July 2024 and refused to leave unless offered a larger upgrade.
The 59-year-old, along with his 28-year-old wife and twin three-year-old daughters, resisted efforts by housing provider Southern Housing to make them vacate the flat at David Smith Court.
Mr Haque cited Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights to block his removal, arguing that eviction would breach his family’s right to a private life.
Defending him at a previous court hearing, lawyer Isabel Bertschinger argued that eviction 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.”
Despite arriving in the UK in 1997, the migrant claimed he did not understand the tenancy agreement he signed two years ago because it was not provided in his native Sylheti language.
Mr Haque also funded his weekly rent of £110.70 through disability benefits, which he claimed for depression and sleep apnea during his time at the retirement property.
“He is disabled and has limited English language skills and he is in receipt of benefits and therefore has a low income,” Ms Bertschinger said.
The migrant also demanded to be moved into a larger home, claiming the single-occupancy over-55s accommodation he moved into was unsuitable for his family.
Upon arriving in London nearly 30 years ago, Mr Haque found work in Bangladeshi restaurants across the capital.
After divorcing his first wife and leaving a four-bedroom property in east London, he was left homeless and awarded social housing in Newham before being transferred to Berkshire.
In October 2024, he applied to bring his second wife and twin daughters from Sunamganj in northern Bangladesh to join him, just months after securing the Reading flat.
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His children, though born in Bangladesh, possess British citizenship, whilst his wife entered the country on a spousal visa.
Mr Haque has now agreed to vacate the property after reaching an out-of-court agreement, the Daily Mail reported.
His departure has prompted celebration from his neighbours, who endured what they described as relentless disruption.
One 63-year-old man who had been living in the building for roughly a year before Mr Haque’s arrival said: “They made my life hell for two years. It was horrendous.”
“Nothing but noise, kids banging about, shouting and screaming. From the moment they woke up at 10am to 1am the next morning,” he said.
Another resident, who had lived on the block for 12 years, said neighbours were glad Mr Haque and his family were gone.
“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,” she told the Daily Mail.
Court documents submitted by Southern Housing detailed how Mr Haque and his family had generated excessive noise and engaged in anti-social behaviour throughout the retirement block.
The submissions specifically referenced the family’s misuse of safety equipment and boisterous conduct, including one incident in December 2024 when the emergency assistance cord was activated nine times within a single day.
At Reading County Court, the two sides clashed over who should bear the financial burden of the lengthy legal battle.
Mr Haque’s legal representative argued that the court should award costs in his client’s favour, contending that taxpayers should not have to “cough up” for the case.
Southern Housing’s barrister, Mr Ben Leb, dismissed the application as “nothing more than opportunistic”.
Judge Catherine Fisher declined to order either party to pay the other’s costs, ruling that it would “not be appropriate” to do so.
GB News has approached Southern Housing for comment.
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