Posts with tag: rogue landlords

A rogue landlord in Slough has been prosecuted, after illegally letting flats to tenants.

After being refused planning permission, 57 year-old Talwinder Singh went ahead and built a block of six flats on Waterbeach Road in Slough. He received a planning enforcement notice in September 2010, but this did not stop him from illegally letting out all six flats to tenants.

He continued to claim that the property had been returned to a single dwelling, as stated in the planning enforcement notice. This is what he told the council, however, it was later discovered that he had lied.

Talwinder Singh had in fact installed temporary kitchens within the flats, made so that they could be easily dismantled and moved elsewhere, in the event that council officers visited the building. The windows for the attic floor rooms were also removed, in order to give the impression that no one was living up there. This meant that the tenants renting that space, which included children, were left without natural light.

Despite registering the building with the council as a single property, this did not prevent him from charging the tenants additional fees for council tax.

Joe Cart, director of regeneration at Slough Borough Council, has said: “People and families in Slough deserve good accommodation and landlords who are not overcharging them for services they are not providing.”

Singh was issued a 15-month prison sentence at Reading Court, suspended for 18months. He has been fined £25,000 and ordered to pay a further £266,177 under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Neil Wilcox, Director of Finance and Resources at Slough, commented: “This successful prosecution is a result of a thorough and painstaking investigation by the council’s Fraud Team and has led to the recovery of a significant amount of lost council tax.”

During the hearing on 21^st March, the council was awarded £18,826 in compensation for lost council tax and £23,130 in prosecution costs.

Alexandra Morris, the Managing Director of MakeUrMove, comments on the impact rogue landlords have on the whole of the industry. 

The topic of rogue landlords has been thrown into the limelight as a result of controversial landlord Fergus Wilson’s recent appearance on Panorama. 

The perception of Fergus Wilson is that he’s a rogue landlord, but, unfortunately, he may well be a casualty of various legislation introduced by the Government. Some of the recent changes have included the reduction in mortgage interest tax relief on buy-to-let properties, increases in Stamp Duty and the introduction of the tenant fees ban, which is resulting in higher costs for landlords. 

The rogue landlord scale

The term rogue landlords doesn’t just have one fixed meaning, and, arguably, there are various levels of seriousness. There are those who are out and outright fraudulent who deserve the title of rogue landlord. 

However, on the other end of the scale are the accidental or casual landlords, who have ended up letting out a property due to unplanned circumstances. The various changes to legislation are causing confusion for many landlords as to their rights and responsibilities. As a result, some landlords may be acting inadequately through a lack of education, and simply don’t realise until a tenant or letting agent highlights it to them. 

Landlords facing increased costs 

Similarly, there are also landlords who are having to deal with increased costs, such as the loss of mortgage interest tax relief, again, due to the latest rules and regulations in the industry, and the need to cut costs is causing them to be rogue. 

Rather than being rogue, the need to cut costs comes down to a lack of preparation and knowledge on the novice landlord’s part. For example, they might have become too reliant on their existing monthly income from their property. The difference is, professional landlords usually have plans in place well in advance to cover any unplanned costs, or a reserve in the bank. 

With the recently introduced Fit for Human Habitation Act, landlords need to be even more prepared with their money. For example, if a property needs new carpets and a deep clean, a cost that many landlords might not account for, then landlords will have to pay up before the property can be rented out.

Taking responsibility 

Additionally, when a landlord faces claims of substandard practice, then we often see the blame shifted onto tenants or letting agents. This may be because landlords haven’t got the insurance, which covers all of the costs required for letting out their property. However, landlords need to take the responsibility themselves, as they are the ones responsible for making changes to their property. 

TV portrayal of landlords 

We absolutely support the exposing of criminal landlords. However, there also needs to be more balance to show the bigger picture and represent landlords more fairly. 

Programmes such as the latest Panorama episode, Landlords from Hell, and The Week The Landlord Moved Inprovide the British public with a distorted and disproportionate view of landlords as a whole, with our research indicating that 65% of landlords agree.

In reality, the number of rogue landlords in the market is in the minority, yet the media continues to portray all landlords in a way which leaves good, honest landlords feeling hugely undervalued. 

Landlords are even beginning to think that the sensationalist reporting of these programmes, and the portrayal of worst case scenarios has contributed to all landlords being penalised with the Government’s new legislation, which favours tenants and makes renting out properties less viable.

An overhaul of the housing market 

The current conditions in the housing market are greatly damaging for landlords and property investors. We know that the majority of landlords are good landlords, but, if the Government doesn’t step in and introduce legislation that supports landlords, as well as tenants, then we may see more landlords being forced into trying to cut costs, resulting in rogue behaviour.