Evict a rogue Landlord - Shelter...

tbs624

One from Bristol

Private landlord prosecuted by council for Housing Act failures
Thu, 22/12/2011

Landlords have been fined more than £30,000 and ordered to pay over £5,000 in costs after being found guilty of serious breaches of the Housing Act.

A total of 11 adults, a child and a baby were living at 183 Wells Road, Bristol, which is a House of Multiple Occupation. Housing Officers from Bristol City Council which brought the prosecutions, found a series of offences including:

• Failure to provide adequate fire safety at the property.
• Failure to ensure the shared areas of the property were maintained in a good and clean decorative order.
• Failure to ensure the property was kept in good repair.
• Failure to provide lighting in many of the shared areas of the property.
• Keeping a property whose structure was a danger to the health of the occupiers.
• Failure to provide information about the property when required to do so.

On December 21, 2011 Jasbir Baryah, Gurdip Baryah, Sharanjit Baryah and Tajinder Baryah of Regent Street, Clifton, Bristol, and Fishponds Road, Bristol, were summonsed before Bristol Magistrates Court in relation to alleged offences under the Housing Act 2004 and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

The owners, or their representatives, failed to attend Court. Evidence was laid by the council of officers from the council’s Private Housing and Adaptations team who had visited the property and found conditions deteriorating as time progressed.

Attempts were made to work with the landlord to turn the management of the property around. However, these proved unsuccessful. The condition of the property was very poor and posed a serious threat to the health of its Bulgarian residents. The decision to prosecute was taken.

The defendants were found guilty on all charges. Sharanjit Baryah, Tajinder Baryah, Gurdip Baryah and Jasbir Baryah were each fined £800 for failure to comply with a notice requiring information on the property to be provided.

Each defendant was ordered to pay £193.65 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge. Jasbir Baryah and Gurdip Baryah were each fined £13,818.15 under section 234(3) of the Housing Act 2004 for management regulations breaches found at the property by inspecting officers. The pair was each ordered to pay £2,206.50 in costs. The combined fines totalled £30,036.30 and combined costs totalled £5,199.60.

Source

theartfullodger

3 more quality Landlords courtesy of Property118 - see...
http://www.property118.com/index.php/landlord-and-his-lover-conned-20000-in-benefits/24354/

A landlord moved his tenant lover in to his home while she carried on fraudulently claiming benefits for his buy to let. The pair conned the local council out of £20,000 in housing benefits, council tax and income support.
Mandy Huskisson, 44, pleaded guilty to four fraud offences at Runcorn Magistrates Court. She was given a six-month community order and ordered to repay £19,661 in overpaid benefit.
Arthur Traynor, 43, admitted two social security offences and was ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work.

.........................

In a separate case, landlord Naizali Mohmed swindled Southampton City Council out of £32,000 when he carried on banking housing benefit two years after his tenants had moved out.
He was ordered to repay the cash in six months or face 16 months in jail at southampton Crown Court. He was also sentenced to a 12 week prison sentence suspended for two years.
Judge Peter Ralls said: “The idea that people can obtain money, public money, particularly nowadays, when the public money is so scarce, is something that will not be tolerated.”
Mohmed admitted failing to notify the council of the change in circumstances.
...................

Meanwhile, landlord was fined £1,750 for letting tenants live in a ‘hell-hole’ home. Amar Shazad, from Walthamstow, East London, admitted eight offences of failing to maintain a buy to let flat in good repair.

A Newham Council enforcement team uncovered a filthy flat infested with mould with a hole from a staircase into a car repair workshop below.
They also saw exposed electric wiring, kitchen cupboard doors off their hinges and unsafe coverings and repairs to the staircase. There was a cockroach on the hallway carpet.
Shazad was also ordered to pay £600 costs when he appeared at Thames Magistrates Court.

tbs624

Some March reports:

from Oxford

"A Glasgow GP has given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs, after failing to maintain a gas boiler at a student flat he owned in Oxford.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Dr Tariq Mahmood for breaching Gas Safety Regulations in December 2010.

Oxford Magistrates' Court heard that on 17 December 2010, a gas installer was called by the landlord to repair a boiler at Laurel Court, Nye Bevan Close, Oxford. He refused to service the appliance and called an emergency gas engineer, who immediately condemned the boiler and flue. He then reported it to the HSE.

The HSE investigation revealed that Dr Mahmood had failed to maintain the flat's boiler and flue for two years between January 2009 and December 2010. This action endangered the lives of the students who lived there, exposing them to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning." (my bolding)

Source

Many would think that a GP really ought to have known better...

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A couple of prosecutions from Reading -

A landlord is to pay £2,125 in fines and £1,815 costs to Reading Borough Council after admitting he failed to keep a property in East Reading in a fit state for tenants.

Mohammed Mir, 41, of Cumberland Road, Reading, pleaded guilty to 16 offences relating to a house he owns in Eastern Avenue, which he rented out to nine tenants.

Mr Mir appeared at Reading Magistrates’ Court to face charges under The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006, on January 4th, 2012.....

The prosecution follows a similar case in Bracknell, where Mr Mir was recently found guilty of eight similar offences relating to another property he owns in Bracknell Forest"
(my bolding)

source

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"A rogue landlord who forced his tenant to live in dangerous and dirty conditions and without adequate hot water or heating has been convicted by Magistrates following a lengthy Reading Borough Council prosecution

Abdul Naeem Hanif, 38, faced 20 charges at Reading Magistrates Court earlier this month, all connected with the unacceptable living conditions at the property which he rented out at Neuk (house name), Field Road, Reading.

....Reading Magistrates found Hanif guilty of 13 of the 20 charges, which spanned breaches of the Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006; Section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Section 16 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

He was fined a total of £665, but stated in court he was unable to pay. Imprisonment in default of the fine was therefore imposed by magistrates to run concurrently with a sentence of 4 years he is serving for separate drugs offences."

Photos linked to in report
Source

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One from Walthamstow ( Newham Counci)l

"Amar Shazad, from Walthamstow, admitted eight offences of failing to keep the flat he rented out, on Sprowston Mews, Forest Gate, ‘in good and clean decorative repair’

He was fined £1750 and ordered to pay costs of £600 at Thames Magistrates’ Court (January 18th).

Horrified council housing enforcement officers discovered the filthy, mouldy flat, which had a hole from the staircase into a car repair workshop below.

Officers found exposed wires, kitchen cupboard doors off their hinges and unsafe coverings and repairs to the staircase. There was a cockroach on the hallway carpet."

Couple of photos linked to from report
Source

RAS

Landlord Tariq Zaman hides his face outside Leeds Crown Court.


Published on Wednesday 14 March 2012 11:43


A LANDLORD who refused to hand back deposits to some of his student tenants has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Tariq Mahmood Zaman should have paid the money back when the tenancies were completed but refused to do so to at least 18 students who had agreements at properties belonging to his family, Leeds Crown Court heard yesterday.
Even when some of those involved got County Court judgments against him he simply ignored them.
Zaman, 42 of Hollin Mount, Weetwood, Leeds was sentenced to 46 weeks in jail suspended for two years and ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work after admitting 18 charges of theft.
He was also ordered to pay £3,500 costs.
Judge Penelope Belcher told him: “These were mean minded offences targeting young vulnerable students which could have had an impact on Leeds as a student city if it became known “people like you were not returning deposits”.
The judge said she had read references about Zaman including one from Leeds Councillor Mohammed Iqbal who clearly did not know him as well as he thought, since he said Zaman had not been involved in wrongdoing before, when he had previous convictions.
Alistair Campbell, prosecuting, said the complaints were came from before 2008 when the law changed to protect tenants.
They involved nine properties in Headingley, Kirkstall and Burley, Leeds, and money was available to pay back those affected.
Rossano Scarmadella, for Zaman, said many students had received deposits back correctly and he accepted the few involved in the case should have done so and wanted to apologise to them.
Detective Constable Jo Hind, of the Leeds district proceeds of crime act team said afterwards she hoped the case “would serve as a reminder to any unscrupulous landlords who think they can exploit their tenants for financial gain”.
She added: “His practice of keeping deposits without any legal basis was on such a scale that the Leeds University Student Advice Centre took on extra staff to deal with the number of complaints they were receiving about him.”

Source http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/thieving-leeds-landlord-who-targeted-students-escapes-jail-1-4341443

Mr Zaman has previous history
A rogue landlord previously featured on Watchdog has been fined for flouting housing laws.
Tariq Mahmood Zaman pleaded guilty at Leeds Magistrates' Court to charges of renting out unlicensed properties.
Watchdog exposed Tariq Zaman in 2008 when the lettings agency he was a director of, Providence Properties, was refusing to refund deposits, leaving students thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Tariq Zaman caught on Watchdog's secret cameras
Zaman had seventeen county court judgements against him but still refused to give students their money back. Using secret cameras, Watchdog revealed his complete disregard for the law. He told a tenant:
"Listen mate, getting a county court judgment doesn't mean nothing, it does not guarantee that you'll get your money back."
£11,000 fine

Now Zaman and his brother Kahlid Mahmood Zaman will have to pay over £11,000 for renting out four properties in Leeds without the required multiple occupation (HMO) licences.
A spokesperson from Leeds City Council told Watchdog:
"Tariq Zaman has been named as a HMO licence holder for 18 properties owned by his family.Due to the prosecutions, the council has taken the view that he is no longer a fit and proper person and we are now taking steps to remove his licence completely."
Leeds University's students' union welcomed the fine but called for "tougher legislation to regulate landlords."
When Watchdog asked Tariq Zaman to comment he told us, "I'm not interested".
See the full Watchdog story.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2010/01/providence_properties_prosecution.html

theartfullodger

See..
http://www.westminster.gov.uk/press-releases/2012-03/london-council-wins-landmark-case-against-subletti/

London council wins landmark case against subletting cheat
Wednesday, 14th March 2012


A London council has won a breakthrough case against unlawful council tenant subletting,

Following a sentencing hearing in Westminster Magistrates Court today, Westminster Council has won its first case over unlawful subletting of a council property under the Fraud Act 2006.

Mr Herminio Nascimento, 42, a former Council tenant of a two bedroom property on the Westbourne Park Estate, has been sentenced to 16 weeks in prison for subletting a council house property whilst living with his partner in a property they jointly own in Crawley, Sussex.

The council has been awarded £7,100 in legal costs for the case.

It is estimated that 160,000 tenants unlawfully sub-let their homes at a cost of £5bn a year to the taxpayer.

Westminster is calling upon the Government to incentivise and not penalise local authorities for tackling the issue by granting them greater powers to prevent ongoing exploitation of the system.

Cllr Lindsay Hall, Chairman of Westminster Council’s Housing Benefit Fraud Group, said:

“We will not stand for those who think they can exploit and cheat a vital support system that is in place to protect and house our most vulnerable residents.

“Currently, Westminster has over 1,000 families waiting to be moved to a larger property and meanwhile a minority of tenants think they can get away with earning a fast buck by renting out much needed homes.

“This is just a small victory for the council but much more needs to be done to allow local authorities to take action against what should be a criminal offence.”

Speaking at the sentencing today, District Judge Snow said;

“Council housing in the UK is under great pressure and this is particularly true for housing in central London. It is important that councils, Westminster in particular, can allocate property where most needed.

“You sublet your council property for profit. When confronted, you lied about it and you lied, you lied and you lied.

“I am duty bound to deter both you and anyone else tempted to sublet council property.”

So, an unlawful Landlord, profiting at taxpayer's expense, gets done: Good! Well done Westminster!! (Never thought I'd say that, with their murky history over housing....)

theartfullodger

Fraudulent South London Landlady Rose Chimuka rips off tenants, letting agents & landlords.. facing jail for 4 years..

See...
http://content.met.police.uk/News/Rose-Chimuka-jailed-for-subletting-fraud/1400007159546/1257246745756

A 32 year old woman is facing a jail sentence of over four years after she was found to be behind an elaborate letting fraud in South London this week (5 March 2012).

Rose Chimuka of Hinchcliffe, Peterborough, was sentenced to four years three months imprisonment at Croydon Crown Court, having been found guilty of committing eleven counts of fraud by false representation linked to six addresses across south London from August 2009 to June 2011.

"she had clear intentions to defraud her victims"

The scam involved Chimuka, often using a false name, approaching estate agents saying that she was looking for a large family home to rent, that she and her family would live in. She would enquire with agents about schools and claim her husband worked away. A suitable property would be found and Chimuka would rent the property on the basis of it being for her and her family.

However, Chimuka had no intention of moving into the property with her family. Rather, she would advertise locally for tenants so that she could sub-let the property out to other tenants. She would then sub-divide the houses she had rented and put locks on internal doors and sub-let the property out - to up to 15 people in some cases. All this was done without the true landlord’s knowledge.

Chimuka would collect rent money in cash from her ‘tenants’ and fail to pay her own rent for the properties she was renting. The real owners and landlords of the properties would then attend their houses to find a large number of people living in their properties without their knowledge, whilst the tenants would believe they were legitimately renting out rooms.

Chimuka carried out this scam at six addresses across south London which included properties in; Montague Avenue, Brockley; Sydenham Road, Norwood; Green Lane, Norbury; Grange Park Road, Thornton Heath; Northampton Road, Croydon; and Penwortham Road, Streatham.

tbs624

A landlord from Tooting has been fined more than £6,500 after an inspection uncovered 15 people living inside his unlicensed, three-storey flat.

Hassan Akhtar Niazi, of Vant Road, Tooting, pleaded guilty to four offences under the Housing Act at Richmond Magistrates' Court last month, following a prosecution by Wandsworth Council.


The council raided the over-populated property, in Holbeach Mews, Balham, in August last year following a tip-off from the UK Border Agency.



Thursday 19th April 2012
Source

tbs624

"Edwin McGee, of Springfield Road, St Leonards, appeared before magistrates in Hastings on Tuesday (April 3) and admitted not giving the council all the information legally required about a property he rents out.
He was fined £250, ordered to pay £300 in costs and a victim surcharge of £15.

A spokesman for Hastings Borough Council said: “Landlords need to tell us the full details of the properties they rent out, whether they are houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) or single units."

12 April 2012
Source

tbs624

"Wycombe District Council has won a case that they brought against local landlord Mr Amarjit Jutla of Disraeli Crescent, High Wycombe. Mr Jutla appeared in Slough Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to 13 charges in connection with a multiple occupancy property in West Wycombe Road, High Wycombe, which he rented out to tenants.

When officers from Wycombe District Council's Environmental Health Team visited the property it was found to be in a poor condition. The property was without adequate heating or hot water, a ceiling had collapsed in the bathroom revealing long term fungal growth, plaster to the lounge walls were cracked, perished, defective and exposing an unsafe electrical socket. Mr Jutla had failed to maintain the common parts of the house in multiple occupation (HMO) in a good and decorative repair. Mr Jutla had failed to provide gas safety and electrical safety certificates when requested.

The Council deemed the property uninhabitable. " My bolding

Slough Magistrates' Court imposed fines totalling £13,750 , also ordering Mr Jutla to pay costs of £2,000 and a victim surcharge of £15.


Source

theartfullodger

The National Landlords Association (NLA) announces ..
http://www.landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/nla-comments-governments-plans-tackle-criminals-housing

Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer at the NLA, commented:
.

“The NLA welcomes the Government putting pressure on local authorities to crack down on rogue operators who blight the private-rented sector.
.

“It is important that Government departments work together to target criminal behaviour as this problem extends beyond the provision of housing.
.

“These are criminals who seize the opportunity to exploit vulnerable people. It is crucial that local authorities and enforcement agencies use their existing powers to prosecute those who flout the law and fail to meet their obligations.”

I take that to mean, even though they don't quote spell it out, they support the campaign. Great news, a decent use being made of my membership ££££sss.

Cheers!

Artful