£20k Fine or 10 Years Jail Time?
Nearly £20k in fines or even 10 years in jail? Landlord fails can really be THAT severe!
We tell these stories because the bad landlords are definitely in the minority and we tell their stories in order to learn from them. Good landlords are necessary for the UK housing market, so if you’re looking to grow your portfolio, let us know!
It’s been a while since we shared a landlord fail with you and we’ve got two big stories for you today. We’ll take you through what happened AND what we can learn from them.
Licencing Fine
Guess what netted one Nottinghamshire landlord a £17,500 fine? … Did you guess a licencing fine? Then you got it in one because that’s just what happened when a landlord was found to be renting TWO properties with the appropriate licence.
Back in 2017, Ashfield District Council set up a selective licencing scheme in Sutton-in-Ashfield and, in 2022, they extended the scheme for another 5 years as the scheme had ‘helped to bring about change and improvement to homes and the wider community.’
However, Mr Landlord – who has been allowed to retain his anonymity in respect for ‘accepting the penalty’ – did not get his properties licensed. And we ALL know what that means!
Both properties also featured safety issues – these would have been picked up and sorted out under the licensing scheme, which aims to hold properties to higher standards.
Unfortunately, we aren’t able to find out just what those safety issues were, but Environmental Health Residential Team officers did visit the property, so we can confirm there WERE issues.
There is some good news for Mr Landlord though, as letting a property in a designated area WITHOUT a Selective Licence in place is a criminal offence and penalties include prosecution and an unlimited fine or a financial penalty up to £30,000. In that context, £17,500 doesn’t sound QUITE so bad.
Jail Time
Speaking of potential jail time… let’s look at a landlord who has been hit with ACTUAL jail time.
Let’s rewind back to 2016. A simpler time, before rising interest rates and pandemics. Landlord Zahid Khan was exposed as a rogue landlord for forcing SIX tenants out of his home in Yardley Wood Road, through intimidation and threats to change the locks. The property was also deemed unsafe and unlicensed, as well as contravening management regulations.
After receiving his guilty verdict, he was fined £2,000, ordered to pay £5,070 costs and carry out 150hrs of community service.
But Mr Khan did not agree that he was guilty of these offences and lodged an appeal that saw three of the offences dismissed. BUT! The court did decide to uphold:
- Three counts of interfering with the peace and comfort of tenants
- Failing to provide adequate smoke alarms
- Failing to obtain an HMO licence for the property
Now, this is exactly the type of behaviour that gives landlords a bad name. But it’s important to remember that these stories are reported on because they are the exception – NOT the rule!
Mr Khan was actually not just a failure as a landlord, as the police confirmed in 2018 that he had also been charged with concealing criminal property relating to six allegedly stolen vehicles bearing allegedly cloned number plates, as well as accused of:
- Conspiracy to commit fraud
- Two counts of perverting the course of justice
- Transferring criminal property
- Four offences of fraud by false representation
He had already admitted three counts of fraudulently obtaining car insurance and was sentenced to ten years. On top of ALL that? Mr Khan has also been involved in trying to smuggle illegal immigrants into the UK in the back of his tyre lorry. He fled the UK in 2018, but was extradited from Turkey last December.
Given Mr Khan’s criminal history, it’s no surprise to find that he was also an appalling landlord.
What can you learn?
Look, we understand that licensing can feel like just another additional expense – but it’s IMPERATIVE that you get a licence if you are renting a HMO or your properties are in a selective licensing area.
Let’s look at WHY selective licensing is brought in. It won’t reduce how much you have to pay, but it might make you feel better about it…
First up, HMO licences are to protect residents and keep them safe and sound. With multiple tenants coming and going over time, it’s easier for unscrupulous landlords to blame this for any issues in the property.
House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licences exist to keep residents safe and make sure landlords follow the necessary requirements when renting out a property to multiple people. HMO’s have a high turnover rate of tenants, so it can be trickier for landlords to monitor the property and make sure that the conditions are what they should be. By implementing the licensing rules, councils and HMO tenants are assured of certain standards that landlords need to abide by.
When it comes to selective licensing, this is a little different, as it’s not ONLY for HMOs, it’s for a particular area. Local authorities in England and Wales have been able to apply these schemes since April 2006 under the Housing Act 2004.
The Labour government in 2006 had a strong anti-social behaviour agenda and there was a growing concern that landlords were buying properties without investing in good standards of management. This led to the creation of areas of poorly maintained housing with tenants exhibiting anti-social behaviour, which had a consequently negative impact on the local community.
So selective licensing was seen as a way to tackle this issue, by setting and enforcing minimum management standards.
But do you think that selective licensing actually DOES improve the local area and prevent antisocial behaviour? Do you think there’s a better solution?
