eviction notices, says a landlord who has fought a one-year battle to kick a tenant owing thousands of dollars in arrears off his property.

Not even Mr. Freddie Thomas' former middleweight boxing championship status has helped him get rid of the man.

Mr. Earl Thomas -- no relation -- owes him $3,300 in back rent.

Mr. Thomas, who owns the Four Star Pizza chain with his son Maurico, said he had given the tenant and his family several eviction notices from a $800-a-month two-bedroom apartment next to Four Star Pizza in Somerset.

The tenant had defied each of the notices.

Furthermore, he not bothered to contact him to explain the problem, Mr. Thomas said.

As a result he had been forced to take him to court.

However, he did not show up at their court hearing two weeks ago.

Mr. Thomas learned a court summons had not been served on the man because bailiffs were unable to find him.

The tenant, a construction worker, could not be reached for comment. Messages were left with a friend for him to contact The Royal Gazette but he declined to do so.

"What annoyed me is the bailiffs didn't even contact me to see if I could help them locate him,'' Mr. Thomas said, adding the man worked on different job sites in the day but was usually home after 4.30 p.m.

Mr. Thomas said he must now wait until the bailiffs find the man and then go to court.

And if he gets an eviction order, only after a further seven-days-to-one-month's notice will he be able to finally forcibly evict the man.

The lack of prompt legal protection for landowners was forcing many, like himself, to take matters into their own hands, he said.

"I've heard of other frustrated owners who have disconnected water supplies, taken off windows in the house, put clothes outside on the street.

"And I do agree with those things if the tenant does not come in and discuss the problem with the landlord.'' Mr. Thomas said he had resorted to nailing a piece of plywood reading "Pay Your Rent -- Owing $3,000'' to the man's door.

Mr. Thomas said he had been forced to stand by and watch as the man failed to pay his rent for the last four months, yet managed to maintain electricity, cable television and water.

"If you don't pay your electricity bill Belco will simply cut it off within days,'' Mr. Thomas said.

However, he was told he would face Police prosecution if he went in and removed doors and windows and other fixtures on his own property.

Mr. Thomas said he bought the property from LPG a year and a half ago as a staff residence because it was adjacent to Four Star Pizza on the main road in Somerset.

LPG had repossessed the property from the owner. And the tenants were supposed to be out by the time the sale was through.

However, they didn't leave.

Mr. Thomas said he gave the man notice to find somewhere else and several months passed as he concentrated his efforts on his new Four Star Pizza operation in Somerset.

The man had said he would find somewhere else to live and had been paying his rent on time during this period, Mr. Thomas said.

Six months later, seeing he and his family had still not left and wanting to renovate the apartment for his staff, he gave him a further three-month's notice. This was when the man began falling in arrears in rent.

A while later, a fed-up Mr. Thomas, who had to drain funds from other properties to help cover the cost of the purchase of the building and adjoining apartment, said he gave him a month's notice.

He also "decided to be forceful and embarrass him by nailing a four-foot-wide piece of plywood reading `Pay Your Rent $3,000 Owing' across his front door''.

The man returned with his mother, who lives in a rear one-bedroom apartment, and spoke with Mr. Thomas. "She asked if I would please take it down it was embarrassing and gave me $300 towards the rent, promising to pay some more the next day.'' Mr. Thomas said he took the sign down and was waiting until he got home to see if any more money was waiting for him.

But his battle to evict him continues.

"When people have the TV and lights on then don't pay the rent there's something wrong,'' he said.

Mr. Thomas said the man had made no effort to come in and discuss the problem with him or his secretaries who collect his rents.

An official from the Rent Commissioner's office said there were laws in place to protect both landlord and tenant.

"There's a procedure that must be followed though,'' he said.

He said landlords must go to court to obtain eviction notices for delinquent tenants. It was a simple procedure and once one was ordered, if the tenant was still refusing to pack his bags, the landlord could forcibly evict the tenant -- remove their belongings -- and a Police officer would be sent to stand by.

He did say he found it hard to believe the bailiffs could not find the tenant in Mr. Thomas' case.