Villa had been looking for a win to lift themselves up the table but now find themselves slipping into a possible relegation dogfight.
Veteran Teddy Sheringham sent Villa slumping to their second successive home defeat with his 69th minute strike following a move carved out by Stephen Carr.
With Ledley King in fine form Villa struggled to make an impact. The air of uncertainty about the side proved to be their downfall and left a lot of unanswered questions.
Neither side created a favourable impression in a dour, goalless first half. Both teams struggled to increase the tempo and there were no clear cut chances to lift the game.
Robbie Keane sparkled early in the proceedings with a close-range shot but thereafter disappeared in the mediocrity of the game, which was only rescued by Sheringham's goal.
Villa were no better. Lee Hendrie, in particular, struggled to make an impact as he was generally kept in tight check by Mauricio Taricco.
Youngster Stefan Moore attempted to inspire Villa when he was preferred to England international striker, Darius Vassell, who was not introduced until the second half.
Moore, a player full of promise, was a potential danger when he darted through to finish with an angled shot which Darren Anderton headed away for a corner.
But it was Spurs who finished the first half on the brighter note when Villa were indebted to goalkeeper Peter Enckelman for keeping them in the game.
He saved brilliantly from Carr's 30-yard shot and following a Darren Anderton corner pushed away Dean Richards' close-range header.
Villa were more positive in the second half when Vassell was obviously intent on proving himself following last week's criticism of his abject performance at Liverpool.
An early Vassell run might well have earned a penalty when the Villa striker was sent crashing to the ground by Richards.
But the miss of the game fell to Ian Taylor when he failed to make contact with a Ulises de la Cruz cross.
This mistake was severely punished two minutes later when Carr's accurate pass from the right was hooked home by Sheringham in the 69th minute.