Posts with tag: rogue landlords

Rent-to-Rent Fraudster Jailed for HMO Scam

Published On: April 25, 2016 at 12:39 pm

A rent-to-rent fraudster has been jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to six offences relating to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) scam.

Moses Ogoe, 24, of Hitchin Road, Luton, was sentenced last week after being found guilty of obtaining properties with false documentation, converting the properties into HMOs and renting them out pretending to be the landlord.

Rent-to-Rent Fraudster Jailed for HMO Scam

Luton Council’s Trading Standards and Private Sector Housing services conducted an investigation into Ogoe’s activities, finding that he was carrying out a rent-to-rent scam on seven properties. Ogoe continued pretending to be a landlord even while on court bail.

When obtaining the properties, Ogoe produced documents claiming he was a doctor, security manager and catering manager. In fact, Ogoe was a temporary security guard.

On several occasions, Ogoe evicted tenants without notice when they failed to pay an increase in rent immediately.

Throughout the investigation, Ogoe refused to co-operate with officers, insisting that he had done nothing wrong and that it was a civil dispute. However, on the first day of his trial, he changed his plea to guilty.

When sentencing Ogoe, His Honour Judge Kay QC said: “You saw an opportunity to rent relatively sizeable properties and sublet them to desperate individuals who needed somewhere to live. You were not providing a public service because you did this for greed. You defrauded them as you did not provide a genuine tenancy and the protection that would give.”¹

Ogoe had previously received a caution under the Housing Act in connection with the conditions at one of the properties.

He will now serve 16 months in prison and must pay £7,500 in costs. The court also ordered that the computers used to create the false documents be removed.

Ogoe’s sister, Rebecca Ogoe, was given a conditional discharge, as the judge believed her brother had manipulated her in this case.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing at Luton Council, Councillor Tom Shaw, comments: “This case underlines the council’s ongoing commitment to ensure private tenants in our town have safe, high quality accommodation. In situations like this, unscrupulous landlords are not only taking financial advantage of vulnerable tenants, but placing their lives in danger.

“Every landlord housing different families that share the same facilities under one roof must register for an HMO license. We will not hesitate to prosecute landlords who show a disregard for the law and their responsibilities towards occupants.”¹

¹http://www.luton-dunstable.co.uk/Rogue-Luton-landlord-jailed-16-months-fraud/story-29158103-detail/story.html

Six in Ten London Tenants Face Daily Living Hazards

Published On: April 21, 2016 at 10:20 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: London,London property market,rogue landlords,tenants

Around six in ten London tenants have to face daily living hazards in their rental properties, according to a study by housing charity Shelter.

The research found that 39% of renters in the capital have to deal with damp or mould, while 26% live in cold homes or have inadequate insulation.

Six in Ten London Tenants Face Daily Living Hazards

Shockingly, a quarter of tenants reported an animal infestation, such as mice or cockroaches.

Even more worryingly, some tenants are being put in danger as a result of unsafe conditions in their rental properties. 14% of tenants have experienced problems with electrical hazards, while one in six live in a home that is poorly secured.

As the average Londoner spends 59% of their income on rent, pressure is mounting for more to be done to protect the capital’s renters.

A quarter of all Londoners rent from a private landlord. However, the private rental sector has little regulation. In 2014, Boris Johnson launched the London Rental Standard to tackle rogue landlords, but uptake is poor.

The Chief Executive of Shelter, Campbell Robb, states: “Every day at Shelter, we hear from London renters who are dealing with appalling conditions and, shockingly, most are paying extortionate rents for the privilege.

“We should all have a place to call home – somewhere warm, safe and secure – but for more than a million Londoners, home is cold, damp and often downright dangerous.”

He urges: “It’s about time London’s 2.5m renters were given a better deal. Renting in the capital doesn’t have to be like this, and the mayoral candidates need to show that they will take action to prevent people from unsafe conditions.”¹

Recently, the Residential Landlords Association released its London mayoral manifesto, detailing what it hopes the new mayor will introduce regarding the private rental sector.

It is unsurprising that so many Londoners are forced into private renting, as recent research highlights the spiralling costs of purchasing a property in the capital.

¹http://londonist.com/2016/04/60-of-london-renters-face-rats-mould-and-leaks

London Landlord Fined £16,000 for Category 1 Hazards

Published On: April 20, 2016 at 11:27 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: London,London landlords,rental properties,rogue landlords

A London landlord that rented out a hazardous property to a family for years has been prosecuted by Harrow Council and ordered to pay fines and costs of more than £16,000.

London Landlord Fined £16,000 for Category 1 Hazards

Following a complaint from the tenant, Harrow Council’s environmental protection officers inspected Kanagaratnam Kesavan’s rental property on Rayners Lane, finding the house in a poor and dangerous condition.

Officers discovered category 1 hazards relating to excess cold, electrical hazards, personal hygiene sanitation and drainage, fire and food safety.

The long list of risks to the tenants included broken windows, broken electrical sockets, exposed wiring, a broken cooker, damaged and missing doors to kitchen units, missing tiles and a constantly running tap.

Kesavan was served with two improvement notices under the Housing Act 2004, requiring remedial works to be conducted to address the category 1 hazards. A further two notices were then served under the Environmental Protection Act for a broken boiler and water penetration from the toilet into the kitchen. Kesavan did not appeal these notices, nor did he contact the council to discuss the notices or works.

During a formal interview, Kesavan admitted to the offences of not complying with the notices, but blamed the tenants’ lifestyle for the damage. Evidence was presented to Willesden Magistrates’ Court on 15^th March, to which he pleaded guilty and was fined and ordered to pay costs totalling £16,120

The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Crime and Community Safety at Harrow Council, Councillor Graham Henson, says: “All Harrow residents should be able to live in good quality accommodation, and I am shocked that someone would rent their property out while it was in such dangerous and life-threatening disrepair. Mr. Kesavan showed no interest in the safety of his tenants, nor did he bother to discuss the notices issued to him by the council. It could have been worse had our officers not intervened.

“Thanks to the hard work of our officers, we have had a successful prosecution. I hope that this sends a strong message to others that this is unacceptable.”¹

¹http://www.harrow.gov.uk/news/article/373/landlord_hit_with_£16k_penalty

RLA Launches its London Mayoral Manifesto for the Private Rental Sector

Published On: April 12, 2016 at 8:55 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: housing crisis,London,London landlords,London property market,Mayor of London,rogue landlords

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has launched its London Mayoral Manifesto, setting out its hopes for the private rental sector under the new mayor of London.

The Landlords4London document details what the RLA believes to be priorities for the successful London mayoral candidate in regard to supporting the private rental sector.

RLA Launches its London Mayoral Manifesto for the Private Rental Sector

The RLA is discouraging rent controls, encouraging better enforcement of current legislation, boosting supply, introducing flexible tenancies and addressing the buy-to-leave trend.

The organisation will be following the campaign trail across London ahead of the mayoral election on 5^th May. It will lobby the candidates on the issues contained within the document.

It opposes rent controls on the basis that they will limit the supply and quality of private rental housing, and is encouraging the successful candidate to look at enforcing existing legislation more effectively to tackle rogue landlords, rather than introducing new regulations.

The RLA also wants the new mayor to commit to encouraging investment in the private rental sector, as well as introducing flexible tenancies and cracking down on the buy-to-leave trend, which puts added strain on London’s housing market.

The Chairman of the RLA, Alan Ward, says: “The private rented sector is a vital provider of housing in the capital, with a huge shortfall in the social housing offer and spiralling house prices.

“After the hammering buy-to-let landlords have taken at the hands of the Chancellor, we want the successful mayoral candidate to recognise the essential role these landlords play in tackling London’s housing crisis.”¹

The RLA’s full manifesto document can be found here: http://www.rla.org.uk/landlord/lobbying/elections/london-mayoral-election-2016.shtml

We will continue to keep you updated with all the latest information for landlords and changes to the London housing market.

¹http://news.rla.org.uk/rla-launches-lonection-manifesto/

Huge fines for landlords after illegal letting

Published On: March 29, 2016 at 12:01 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,investment,landlords,letting agent,rogue landlords

A pair of buy-to-let investors who flaunted planning regulations have been told to pay a total of £116,000.

Efstratios Filis-Gelagotis and Andreas Charalambous converted a property into seven studio flats in the London borough of Islington. This conversion was carried out without the required planning permission.

Warning

In December 2013, Islington Council issued a planning enforcement notice, permitting the unauthorised use of the single-family property for studio flats to cease inside six months.

Despite this, the flats continued to be let without authority, even after several further warning letters were issued by the council. As such, a decision was taken to prosecute the two men.

In October last year, both Filis-Gelagotis and Charalambous pleaded guilty to failure to comply with the enforcement notices.

Huge fines for landlords after illegal letting

Fines

Blackfriars Crown Court has instructed both men to pay a fine of £5,000 each, alongside legal costs of £4,000. In addition, they were each ordered to pay another £49,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act. This money represents the value made from renting the property between July 2014 and October 2015.

Since the trial, the property has now been legally converted into a six-bedroom house in multiple occupancy (HMO.) Planning permission was granted in October of last year.

Second Series of Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords to Begin Tomorrow

Published On: March 8, 2016 at 3:41 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Landlord Action,landlord law,Nightmare Tenants Slum Landlords,rogue landlords

Tomorrow night at 9pm, the second series of Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords will begin on Channel 5.

The ten-part series explores the dark side the private rental sector and continuing housing crisis. It features leading eviction specialists Landlord Action and the firm’s founder, Paul Shamplina.

Landlord Action believes that the “complexities and sheer amount” of legislation around private rental housing is pushing more and more landlords out of the buy-to-let sector, which is further fuelling the chronic shortage of housing in the UK.

Second Series of Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords to Begin Tomorrow

The imbalance between supply and demand is also causing rents to rise, putting a strain on landlord-tenant relationships. Just last month, Countrywide reported that the average rent is now the highest on record.

The second series of the programme will reveal some of the difficulties faced by private landlords and tenants in a market that “needs clear and simplified direction in order to maintain its current level of growth”, according to Landlord Action. It is believed that 30% of all households will live in the private rental sector within 30 years.

The first 60-minute episode of the new series will feature three stories, two of which involve a common landlord issue – rent arrears.

Donovan Nelson, a successful music entrepreneur, has not received rent for seven months from one of his tenants. With costs spiralling out of control, Nelson has called on Landlord Action to help him evict the tenant. However, on the day of the court hearing, Donovan is faced with the news that his tenant is going to fight the eviction, claiming that the hot water is not working.

“This case highlights one of my greatest concerns surrounding last year’s introduction of the retaliation eviction law as part of the Deregulation Act 2015,” says Shamplina. “The new measures protect tenants from being evicted when they raise a complaint about the condition of their home. Unfortunately, some tenants are using this as a loophole to avoid eviction, putting landlords under extreme financial pressure.”

If you are suffering with rent arrears, rent guarantee and legal expenses insurance will ensure that you still get paid and your legal expenses are covered.

Episode one also features a rogue landlord, previously known to the authorities, who is renting a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) to several tenants in extremely unsanitary conditions, which have caused a rat infestation.

Shamplina comments: “The show is a very real insight into the plights of the buy-to-let world. There are many professional landlords and respectful tenants out there who move from one harmonious tenancy to another, but that is not always the case.

“With increasing amounts of legislation, we’re seeing a rise in the number of landlords and tenants at loggerheads. Designed to offer a balanced view of the market, Landlord Action was thrilled to be invited to take part in the second series and help show landlords and tenants how to protect themselves.”

The first series of Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords, which aired in June-July 2015, attracted over 1.5m viewers.

The second series will run for ten weeks, every Wednesday on Channel 5 at 9pm.

Additionally, Shamplina will be co-hosting the new The Property Hour radio show on LBC every Thursday from 9pm-10pm, starting this week.