A Wembley landlord has been fined more than £57,000 after having been found to have run an unlicensed and unfit HMO in Arborfield Close, Slough.
Fahed Alam Choudhry, who had been prosecution by Slough Borough Council, was fined a total of £57,577.92 by Reading Magistrates.
Choudhry’s property had been granted an HMO licence in 2018, restricted to one year because of previous regulation breaches. The licence was not renewed in 2019.
During an unannounced visit to the property on May 2021, council officers found six different households and a total of 11 people living in the Arborfield Close house.
It did not have facilities suitable for so many people. Live electrical wires dangled from the ceiling and fire exits were blocked. There were holes in the floors, broken waterspouts into the kitchen and a completely overgrown garden.
Choudhry did not turn up for the January magistrates hearing but was convicted in his absence of 11 offences; 10 offences of breaches of management regulations and one offence of not licensing an HMO.
He was fined £5,000 for each offence and ordered to pay costs and a victim supplement.
‘Choudhry cared not one bit about the law and even less about the safety, health and wellbeing of his tenants’, commented Slough councillor Martin Carter.
‘The seriousness of the offences is shown by the fine imposed and I hope this serves as a warning to other slum landlords, who we know are operating in Slough, that we will not hesitate to hit your where it hurts the most; in your wallet. Gone are the days where unscrupulous and uncaring – and often absent – landlords can prey on the poorest in Slough’s communities, taking advantage of their desperation, their lack of knowledge of the regulations’.
Camden Council has successfully secured banning orders against four landlords after they were found to be letting an unlicensed and unsafe home in Kilburn.
This the seventh banning order secured by Camden, the most secured by any local authority in England.
All four of these latest banning orders were given on 17 January by the first tier tribunal.
One was against Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasool of Manor House Drive, NW6.
Last year Camden Council worked in partnership with the Met Police to obtain an anti-social behaviour injunction against Rasool after he had repeatedly attempted to evict and harass Kilburn tenants illegally.
Also receiving banning orders were: Daya Ahmed Dayaaldeen of Upper Grosvenor Street, W1; Henna Mohamed Rashid of Duke Street, W1; and Talal Faliez Fahad Sagor Alenezi of Picton Place, W1.
The orders will take effect in six months and ban each of those prosecuted from letting property, engaging in letting agency work, and engaging in property management work in England for five years.
If the orders are breached, penalties can include imprisonment for up to 51 weeks or a court fine, or both or a Civil Financial Penalty of up to £30,000.
‘Around a third of Camden residents rent from private landlords and they deserve to live in properly regulated, safe homes and to be treated fair’, said Camden Councillor Meric Apak, Cabinet Member for Better Homes.
‘Most landlords are decent law-abiding people however, for too long a minority have been able to let housing that is unsuitable while exploiting their tenants and woefully disregarding their wellbeing and safety.
‘The legal action taken in this case was a necessary last resort. Our message to landlords and letting agents is that we are here to work with you; to provide advice and assistance first of all and to ensure you can meet your obligations’.
