Tenant woke to debris falling through his ceiling as landlord demolished London pub flat AROUND him

From the Newshound archive · first published 5 October 2026 · last updated 6 October 2026.

Nicola Saia is suing his former landlord Ravinder Laly for up to £100,000 after allegedly being woken by loud banging at his Kennington flat on July 18, 2023, to find a hole in the ceiling and debris raining down — with Laly standing there alongside builders. The front gate of The Cricketers pub, where Saia's flat was located, was then boarded up, leaving him TRAPPED inside an uninhabitable building until a council accepted his homelessness claim.

The Cricketers near The Oval had a distinguished history as a music venue, with acts including The Pogues and Happy Mondays having performed there, before the building was converted into flats and marked for demolition.

Saia's barrister Kevin Brown told Central London County Court that prior to carrying out the demolition, Laly had made repeated threats to bring down the roof.

Laly denies harassment and unlawful eviction, claiming Saia was not legally his tenant at the time.