A ‘rogue landlord’ who waged a campaign of harassment and intimidation against a young mother he illegally evicted has been given a tougher sentence after his appeal was overturned.

Joel Zwiebel, of Hackney, and his property company Interpage Limited were found guilty of two offences under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 in November 2016 and ordered to pay a total of £10,500 in fines and court costs.

Another man, Derrick Stuart, was also originally convicted but did not appeal the decision.

Mr Zwiebel, his company Interpage, and Mr Stuart were re-sentenced on March 13 by a Crown Court judge.

Zwiebel was also ordered to pay £4,000 in costs, £1,000 compensation to his victim and ordered to wear an ankle tag to comply with an overnight curfew between 9pm and 7am for three months.

This is on top of his original sentence when he was ordered to pay a fine of £10,500 and compensation of £2000.

Interpage Limited was fined £4,000 plus costs of £3,500 and £1,000 in compensation.

Mr Stuart, from Newham, was fined £1,500, with £2,500 costs and ordered to pay a further £1,000 in compensation.

Although Mr Zwiebel and Interpage appealed the original decision, a judge at Kingston Crown Court threw the appeals out on February 16.

Wandsworth’s housing spokesman Cllr Paul Ellis said: “This was an utterly appalling display by these men. They waged a disgraceful and unforgivable campaign of harassment against this mother and her son.

“To switch off their gas and electricity in the middle of winter showed a shocking lack of compassion so I am pleased the court has upheld these convictions and imposed a stiffer sentence against Mr Zwiebel and his company.

“Let this case and its outcome serve as a salutary warning to other landlords thinking of following the same illegal path.”

In the original trial, the court heard the woman and her son were living in a rented flat in Queenstown Road, Battersea, which was in disrepair for years with severe damp.

Mr Zwiebel refused to do anything about the situation so the woman began withholding her rent, which prompted her landlord to begin eviction proceedings.

The council then intervened and negotiated an agreement in which she would pay the rent she owed if Mr Zwiebel carried out immediate repairs.

He almost immediately reneged on the deal and switched off her gas and electricity supply, even thought it was the middle of winter.

He then changed the locks so she could not enter her home and it took 18 months to get back her possessions which were mostly broken.