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Hillingdon Council planned to write off rent arrears owed by a former councillor who sublet a building to a café in an apparent breach of the lease.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has obtained a council document, which was lawfully discussed in private, detailing how the council believed it wasn't worth going after the money owed to it by Alan Deville on a council-owned property he was subletting without permission.
The former Conservative councillor at the Tory-run Hillingdon Council was awarded the lease for Cowley Meeting Hall in 2023 for a second five-year term. The meeting hall, currently occupied by the locally popular Theo's Café, owned and run by Erhan Sahin, was being sublet by Mr Deville to the café owner for £18,000 a year - around £12,000 more than he was paying the council.
This is despite the council's lease to Mr Deville stating that it cannot be sublet.
In December 2025, Hillingdon Council announced plans to sell the property, prompting fears from Theo's Café that they would be kicked out so the council could cash in on the asset. It was placed on the market on January 12, however the council withdrew the property from the market only a week later, after the LDRS queried the current leasing arrangements and rent arrears.
Earlier this month, the LDRS became aware that the building occupied by Theo's Cafe, which was under threat of closure due to the proposed sale, was being leased to Mr Deville, as the trustee of Hillingdon Foster Carers Association.
It emerged that Mr Deville, who served as a councillor from 2018 until he lost his seat to Labour in May 2022, was in arrears for an unknown period of time for the lease, charged at £5,655 per year. Meanwhile Mr Sahin says he has continued to pay his rent on Theo's Cafe to Mr Deville at a cost of £18,000 a year without, he says, missing a single payment. He also says he spent £65,000 of his own money fixing up the council-owned property.
On January 8, the LDRS raised the issue of the unpaid rent with Hillingdon Council. Five days later, the council responded, explaining that it had "considered the public interest test" on whether to disclose this information, but ultimately declined to comment citing legal reasons, such as commercial and data protection. Just days later, the property was placed on the market.
However, the LDRS later obtained a report discussed at a public meeting, but during a section of the meeting when details are kept private under a section of the Local Government Act. That report confirmed that the leaseholder, Mr Deville, was in arrears. The council initially refused to comment on the arrears mentioned in the document, citing legal reasons.
Hillingdon Council's Cabinet had voted in favour of writing off the debt on December 23, 2025.
The document obtained by the LDRS states: "It is apparent that costly and protracted legal proceedings would need to be undertaken to recover arrears and possession particularly if any of the parties enter a dispute. These costs would be disproportionate to the rents that the council may be able to recover. Therefore, it would be more cost and time effective for the council to sell the property in the open market."
It does not state the amount owed in arrears or indicate over what period Mr Deville had failed to make payment.
Cllr Sital Punja, Deputy Leader of Hillingdon Labour, told the LDRS: "This stinks of cronyism. A former Conservative councillor appears to have been allowed to avoid paying rent while allegedly profiting from [unauthorised] subletting of a council-owned property.
"The Conservative administration have been caught red handed in willing to turn a blind eye and even move towards selling the building. Meanwhile, a local resident used his own money to turn the site into a valued community asset, much loved by the local community. Residents will rightly ask why different rules seem to apply when you are a Conservative insider.
"Councillor Bianco [as Cabinet Member for Corporate Services & Property] has serious questions to answer. He appears to have chosen to protect a former party colleague rather than stand up for Hillingdon residents and taxpayers. At best, this is incompetence; at worst, it suggests a culture where political connections matter more than fairness, transparency, and value for money."
The council's decision to write off Mr Deville's debt appeared at odds with a recent push for debts owed to the council to be recovered.
In August 2025 Hillingdon Council outlined in an Audit Committee that a "council-wide debt project" was underway, using courts for recoveries on council tax and business rates to recover money owed. The counter fraud team also introduced a new scheme to support debt recovery, which council documents say was scheduled to be expanded.
In 2024, Hillingdon Council was owed £114million in council tax, and over 16,000 taxpayers were sent to magistrates' courts for a liability order, allowing the council to refer over 5,000 cases to bailiffs to collect council tax debt from people.
Hillingdon Council said: "The council cannot comment on the specific details of the lease, for the legal reasons outlined in previous responses and commercial confidentiality, or details within confidential council papers even when those reports have been inappropriately shared outside of the organisation. However, it is carefully reviewing the circumstances of this particular case and the lease arrangement, and is exploring all available avenues for resolution, including possible legal action."
Hillingdon Council declined to answer questions pertaining to how the lease was originally awarded to Mr Deville, whether it was an open tender, and why it planned to write off his debt.
Alan Deville was contacted for comment but did not respond by the time of publication.
When the owner of Theo’s Café, Erhan Sahin, found the property, it was dilapidated.
Throughout this saga, Erhan says he has been treated "shockingly" because "the council messed up". In December 2025, Erhan went public, and contacted councillors and the LDRS seeking help as he fought to save his café from being closed down and sold off by the council.
It was then that he claims a senior council officer, who in emails claimed to be acting on behalf of Cllr Jonathan Bianco, warned him about speaking out. He alleges that this council officer told him to stop talking publicly and to councillors about his situation because he was "making noise".
This led to what Erhan described as a "threatening" phone call, whereby the council officer allegedly said he could change the locks and retain all of Erhan's belongings inside the café. Erhan alleges that he was told: "You don't want to fall out with the council - we can seize your property, this is how it works."
Hillingdon Council declined to comment on these allegations. Reflecting on the LDRS findings, Erhan said: "The council didn't even tell me they were taking it off the market, I found out from the estate agent. This is the scary thing about it, why does it have to take the press finding out for them to actually make a decision and do something about it?
"They are supposed to represent the public, but here I am being threatened… with this kind of stuff happening, it's going to put a lot of businesses off investing in the area."
Cllr Bianco, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member with responsibility for property, told the LDRS the council will "continue to focus on doing things properly". He said: "The council does not comment on ongoing disputes or negotiations with its tenants, and it would be inappropriate to do so.
"What residents should be clear about is that the council is committed to acting fairly, lawfully, and in the best interests of taxpayers. Any decisions relating to council-owned assets must follow a proper process and achieve value for money.
"We are happy to have an open and constructive dialogue with Mr Sahin. However, any future disposal of council property must be conducted transparently and in a way that delivers the best outcome for Hillingdon residents as a whole.
"The allegation of impropriety by Cllr Punja with regards to this matter is reprehensible and I would urge her to publish any evidence she has to back up her claims or desist from repeating them. It is disappointing, though not surprising, to see the Labour leadership once again jumping on a bandwagon before all the facts are known. This administration will continue to focus on doing things properly, not playing politics."
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