A landlord in Edinburgh is the first in the city to be banned from letting out properties after failing to declare previous convictions and to licence his HMO.
The landlord, Yousef Mohammed, had previously been hit with a £1000 fine for failing to licence an HMO. He has subsequently been deemed not to meet the “fit and proper” criteria and taken off the landlord register. Continue reading Landlord in Scotland banned from letting
With more and more commercial property sitting empty, an important judgement in Cardiff could have major ramifications for empty property rate relief.
Due to dubious claims of the property being re-occupied for over 6 weeks and vacant again, councils have taken a harder approach. The appeal against Vale of Glamorgan Council could mean each request for relief will be taken on its own merit so to avoid similar court case. Continue reading Empty property rate relief – Changes ahead?
A landlord addicted to porn secretly watched couples having sex with a spy camera secreted in an alarm clock on a bedside table in a holiday cottage bedroom.
A judge told Jonathan Waugh, 52, that he was disgusting and depraved, when jailing him for a year at York Crown Court. Continue reading Sex spy landlord secretly filmed couples in bed
A shared house landlord who ignored council orders to upgrade his property was ordered to pay more than £13,000 in fines and costs by magistrates.
A team from Selby Council swooped on the house in multiple occupation (HMO) following complaints from tenants. Continue reading HMO landlord pays £13,000 for ignoring repair order
News Sourced by Property118 News Team
Mr Rashid Hussain failed to organise an inspection, despite being handed an improvement notice requiring him to get the property checked within 21 days. Mr Hussain ignored earlier warnings about the checks after he failed to renew after the first year. Continue reading Blackburn Landlord Hit with Hefty Fine
A council housing inspector was locked in shared flats by a defective lock while inspecting fire safety precautions at the property.
Magistrates heard the incident happened after Wyre Council had received complaints about the flats in Windsor Terrace, Fleetwood, Lancashire. Continue reading Council Inspector Trapped by Defective HMO Locks
Estate agents quoting misleading below-market-value home sale prices have been reprimanded by the advertising watchdog.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld four complaints against Express Estate Agency, run in Manchester by Sell Quick. Continue reading Below Market Value Agent Advertised Misleading House Prices
"A round up of rogue landlords in court and their fines"
Two landlords who put tenant lives at risk by flouting fire safety rules were ordered to pay fines and costs of almost £28,000.
The pair – Fiaz Mahmmud, 48, and Audrey Feegrado, 39, of Daffodil Close, Hatfield, Hertfordshire – denied seven charges relating to the management of a house in multiple occupation (HMO) at Watford Magistrates Court.
The court was told that their failings as managers could have led to lethal consequences for their student and young professional tenants. Continue reading HMO Landlords Pick up £28,000 Bill for Flouting Fire Safety
"Investor sent bodybuilder round to collect money"
Property tycoon and former Leeds United football club director Simon Morris recruited a 21 stone bodyguard to recover a loan from a former business partner, a blackmail trial was told.
Morris was involved in Morris Properties, specialising in residential property for students and young professionals in Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Cardiff; another firm called First City Rentals and around 100 other property firms.
He allegedly sent bodybuilder John Ashworth to see Hedley Manton to persuade him to hand over £100,000, which he had given his former partner to help him buy a house.
Their relationship soured and the loan was unpaid after a property firm in Leeds collapsed.
Morris, 34, and Ashworth, 51, each deny a charge of conspiracy to commit blackmail at Newcastle Crown Court. Ashworth also denies an alternative charge of blackmail.
Simon Batiste, prosecuting, told the court: “Morris was a highly successful businessman. However, by 2009 his business empire was imploding. In April 2009, a bankruptcy petition was presented with sums against him around £3.5 million.
“He was desperately trying to avoid being made bankrupt and the Crown say that was the motivation behind Mr Morris conspiring with Mr Ashworth to blackmail the complainant to recover a sum of money that he perceived that he was owed to try to stave off his creditors.”
Ashworth made three visits to Manton – and was arrested on the third.
The court heard he carefully picked his words when speaking to Manton. He suggested he had spent time in jail for firearms offences and warned that he would do “whatever is necessary to get the money back” while going on to say “if I needed to, I could come over there and stab you.”
Manton told the court that Ashworth was “enormous” and he was worried about “repercussions” if he did not meet the bodyguard.
“I felt that if I didn’t agree to it, things could escalate and get much worse,” he said.
The trial continues.
"Letting agents pleads guilty to using clients funds"
A letting agent confessed to a judge that he dipped in to rents and deposits paid by tenants to keep his struggling business afloat.
Zulfiqar Hussain, who traded as Charles Lawson Lettings in Oxford, pleaded guilty to eight charges of unfair commercial practice and transferring criminal property at the city’s crown court.
The charges arose from an investigation by trading standards officers after complaints from landlords. Continue reading Struggling Letting Agent Dipped in to Client Funds
