Kamma Rogue Landlord Roundup: October 2022

October has seen the return of Michael Gove as the UK’s housing secretary, which has received a mixed response from the industry. After previously being fired by then PM, Boris Johnson, Gove was again named housing secretary earlier this month, and is the forth housing secretary since the start of the year. His return is likely to shake up the housing market and bring more regulations to the PRS as he aims to focus on getting rental reform right for both landlords and tenants.

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October Top Rogue Landlords 

Landlord to pay £291,000 or face jail over poor quality accommodation

A London landlord has been fined and ordered to pay a confiscation order for ignoring planning rules. The landlord’s flats failed to meet minimum floor space requirements, with the second building especially being judged to be ‘poor quality accommodation.’ Magistrates ordered the landlord to pay a confiscation order of £251,582 as well as Waltham Forest council’s legal fees of £29,725, after he was found guilty of having failed to comply with a Planning Enforcement notice dating back to 2013. 

The landlord was also handed a fine of £16,000 reduced to £12,000 in recognition of a guilty plea. With the penalty based on income generated by the landlord’s unauthorised property portfolio, the Judge gave him three months to pay or face 30 months in prison, remarking that his offending “undermines the entire system of planning control”. 

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Landlord fined £24,000 after leasing illegal HMO that was dangerous tenants had to leave immediately

A landlord in Barnet has been fined over £20,000 for leasing an unlicensed property in such dangerous condition that tenants had to be evacuated with immediate effect. The property was found to have damaged doors, including an insecure front door, as well as broken fire alarms. On inspection, the council were left with no choice but to put in place an Emergency Prohibition Order with immediate effect.

Officers attending the House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) also reported an overbearing smell and a first-floor landing blocked by so many items that a tenant had to climb over them to enter and leave his room. Cllr Ross Houston, Barnet Council’s chair of the housing and growth committee, said: “Landlords who let unlicensed HMOs or fail to manage them properly risk prosecution or penalty notices of up to £30,000. We are committed to providing quality, affordable and safe housing for our residents, please play your role to help make Barnet a better place.”

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Rogue landlord fined over £12,000 for leasing overcrowded house

A rogue landlord in Northampton has been ordered to pay £12,400 after council inspectors shut down an overcrowded house with people living in substandard conditions.West Northamptonshire Council’s team visited the three-bedroomed property in March this year after receiving complaints from the public. The inspectors found people living in shocking conditions in an overcrowded HMO and identified offences relating to maintenance of means of escape from fire and maintenance of communal areas and quickly slapped an emergency prohibition order condemning the property as unsuitable for living in.

The owner of the property in Northampton was handed a civil penalty for failing to license the property as a HMO.Housing cabinet member, Cllr Adam Brown, said: “It is clear the landlord had little regard for the safety of their tenants. The housing team cannot visit every property but this case demonstrates that we will take action when members of the public contact us with their concerns.”

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