Britain’s Worst Landlord Banned for 10 Years!
A landlord who claimed his tenants ‘love him’, who has previously been JAILED, is now facing the longest EVER letting ban…
We’re going to find out why this landlord was dubbed ‘Britain’s Worst Landlord’.
Why a 10 year ban?!
Landlord Nilendu Das is 55 and owns multiple properties in the Crookes area of Sheffield, South Yorks. In October 2023, the local council took him to court, where he was handed a 10-year ban on letting out properties.
That is a HUGE ban – TEN YEARS! So what on earth did Mr Nas do to deserve this ban?!
Well, in a nutshell, Sheffield City Council said Mr Das had a ‘long history of operating and managing extremely poor quality housing’. But what does that actually mean…?
A long list of issues…
Well, despite what Mr Das claims his tenants feel about him, the council found some pretty major issues, including:
- Holes in the roof
- Piles of rubbish outside of properties
- Mountains of waste in back gardens
- Filth under sinks
- Holes in ceilings
The council concluded that the issues in the properties put tenants at harm of fire and were being forced to live in substandard and dangerous conditions. And it wasn’t just the residential properties that were lacking, Mr Das was also fined for health and safety offences at his Indian restaurant in Sheffield.
Not really love inducing, right?
So Mr Das has been added to the Rogue Landlord Database for 10 years, which means that he cannot rent out residential accommodation, perform property management work or hold a HMO or selective licence for that time. The database was launched in April 2018 and by 2020, only 21 landlords had been added to it – Mr Das is easily the longest ban on the list and, if he breaches the ban, it could lead to a custodial sentence or a fine of up to £30k.
Previous history…
But this isn’t Mr Das’s only run in with the law. Oh no, back in 2013, Mr Das was jailed for 26 weeks for fraud. Over the course of two years, he had claimed more than £17,000 in council tax benefit and Jobseeker’s Allowance over the course of two years while renting out properties that the council labelled ‘squalid’. While Mr Das was sending his son to private school and jetting all over the world on expensive holidays, his tenants were living with mouldy walls, broken doors and lack of insulation.
But he wasn’t just fraudulently living it up, oh no! He also faced sentencing at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court for FOUR failures to comply with improvement notices, AND for harassing a former tenant. The 25 year old tenant complained about the state of the house and he bombarded her with text messages, referring to a clause in the contract stating they would be charged £350 if they complained. He had also changed the locks on another tenant for daring to voice a complaint about the property.
Clearly, Mr Das did NOT learn his lesson!
Cllr Douglas Johnson, the Chair of Sheffield City Council’s Housing Committee said:
The length of [this] banning order reflects the seriousness of his actions and his flagrant disregard for fire safety and the safety of his tenants. Mr Das has a long history of operating and managing extremely poor quality housing and has been prosecuted numerous times by the council. […] His properties were some of the most dangerous properties ever seen by the council’s enforcement staff.
What is the Rogue Landlords Register?
Back in 2016, the Housing and Planning Act created new enforcement powers that local authorities could use against criminal landlords. Now, these are very very few in number, but the act gives them the authority to ban landlords like Mr Das, leading them to be added to the Rogue Landlords Register.
As we said, the ban prohibits landlords from renting out any residential properties, performing any property management work or holding any type of landlord licence and must last at least 12 months and potentially much longer.
But what crimes will see you landing on the register? Well, they include, but are not limited to:
- Unlawful eviction or harassment
- Using or threatening violence for securing entry into premises
- Failure to comply with an improvement notice
- Not having an additional, mandatory or HMO licence where required, or breaching a condition of a licence
So why was Mr Das not banned back in 2013, after harassing his tenants? The offences must have been committed since 6th April 2018 for a banning order to be available, so this was his first offence that could result in a ban.
So what do you think? Is this really Britain’s Worst Landlord? Let us know in the comments below.
