Council of Doncaster has paid £100,000 to a private landlord who threatened to take it to court over alleged slander.
Council has made unfounded remarks about his honesty to people who were looking to use his services to rent property, claimed Rod Bloor.
The authority has agreed a statement confirming Bloor’s honesty, as well as paying out the £100,000 towards his legal costs, according to the Doncaster Free Press .
Council says it does not know the extent of its own legal costs over the case yet and denies any wrongdoing.
Bloor says that in the past he provided hundreds of homes to vulnerable people at the authority’s request , but that his relationship with the council has changed after he had won an appeal over council tax payments, after changes to housing benefit regulations.
At that instant Bloor purportedly became the subject of disparaging statements by council officers, prompting the legal action.
“Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council is able to confirm that any allegation Mr Bloor was untrustworthy, dishonest or had fabricated documents, would be false.
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council and Mr Bloor are pleased to confirm that this action has now been concluded to the satisfaction of both parties.”