Rogue landlord ‘motivated by greed’ jailed
Buy Now An error occurred. Buy Now An error occurred. Book Novotel Hotel Rogue landlord ‘motivated by greed’ jailed Banzai Japan Music Video A landlord who was among a group of property agents who defrauded and misled flat-hunters on an “unprecedented” scale has been jailed for three years and five months. Mohammed Haque, along with three others, was convicted in October of eight counts of fraudulent trading. A fifth defendant was found guilty of two lesser offences. A trading standards investigation found they posted about 18,000 misleading adverts for rooms in east London, hooking in victims who were pressured into paying deposits to move into “horrible” properties. Some ended up trapped in them while others were evicted without notice. Many victims said their experiences had had a severe financial and psychological impact. Book Novotel Hotel Haque, 47, set up various companies operating across Tower Hamlets, including Citiside Properties Ltd and Flintons, based at the same address in Mile End, and had links with several other firms, trading standards found. Haque, his former wife Fatima Begum, 42, Gonzalo Egea, 43, and Razaur Oli, 51, were convicted at Southwark Crown Court of fraudulent trading, while Haque, Nozir Ahmed, 56, and the two companies Barrons London Ltd and Roomshare Ltd were found guilty of the less serious charge of engaging in unfair commercial practice. Ahmed and Roomshare were also convicted of engaging in aggressive commercial practice. Banzai Japan Music Video ‘Tip of the iceberg’ One man told Southwark Crown Court his life was made “hell” by Flintons and he was left feeling suicidal by the firm, while another tenant said he was treated like a “stray dog”. One victim said she was forced to live in a flat ridden with mice; others said they felt “violated” and were left penniless. Tower Hamlets trading standards investigation team leader Sean Rovai said the case was “virtually unprecedented in its size and complexity”, with more than 200 known victims between 2017 and 2021. However, he said that number was likely to be the “tip of the iceberg”. The defendants appeared to target those unfamiliar with the London rental market, such as foreign workers and students, using popular sites such SpareRoom to post misleading pictures of rooms that were not in fact available, the investigation found. Prospective tenants were tricked into parting with large deposits, pressured into taking out tenancies without being able to view properties first, and many became “stuck” in low-quality accommodation that bore no resemblance to adverts. Some were threatened when they tried to move out while others found themselves trapped, without anywhere else to go, investigators found. When tenants chose to leave at the at the end of their contracts, their deposits were not returned to them. “Almost every area of malpractice in this industry that we see was encapsulated in this one case,” Mr Rovai said. “It was all motivated by greed and profit. And there was very little sympathy for any of these victims.” In some cases, the firms evicted tenants with no notice by removing all their possessions and changing the locks while they were out. Tenants were treated “terribly”, Mr Rovai said. ‘I had nowhere to go’ Fashion worker Julius Agyei, who rented a room from Flintons, said he was “devastated” by what happened to him after he moved to London from Manchester. Arriving home to Mile End from a day out at Winter Wonderland in December 2018, he found his key did not work. “Everything was locked,” he said. When a housemate let him in, Julius found all his possessions had been removed from his room. “It was empty, there was literally nothing; I was devastated. All my clothes, shoes, my passport, lots of meaningful items… I never got them back.” Julius spent the night on the street before seeking help at a homeless hostel the following day. “I had nowhere to go… I had nothing so I literally had to start from scratch… it took me a while, it was very challenging.” Julius said in the years that followed, he suffered panic attacks, a breakdown and flashbacks. “I was traumatised by it… it wasn’t just shoes and clothes, it was deeper than that.” Usually, landlords must obtain a court order to evict tenants. But these companies tricked people into signing what are known as licence-to-occupy agreements – usually used for holiday accommodation – which effectively enabled them to throw people out on the street. The firms were “not averse” to getting rid of those who complained, Mr Rovai said. “There was always a queue of people desperate for housing so they can afford to kick them out.” Many victims took out tenancies after being lured in with “bait-and-switch” advertising. The firms used photos of high-quality accommodation that was not actually available, in order to generate interest. Yan Liu was hooked in by one such advert on SpareRoom for a room in a property near the Bow Road in Mile End, when she was studying medicine nearby. “It was pristine and £600 per month.” She went to the Citiside Properties office an hour later but was told the room was no longer available. “I was about to leave but they insisted to show me other properties.” She was then pressured into paying £300 just to view an alternative room. However, the firm did not show her the room and refused to refund her money. She was told the only way to get her money back was to redeem it indirectly by taking out a tenancy agreement. “£300 is is not a small amount of money,” Yan said. “I felt that because I paid that deposit with them, I didn’t have any other choice: if I want to get the money back, I have to rent with them.” The room Yan eventually moved into was more expensive and “much crappier” than the one she saw advertised, she said. It had no heating and a faulty electricity supply, meaning she could not cook. ‘Humiliated and embarrassed’ Israel Kujore went
Landlord licences to stamp out ‘dangerous’ HMOs
Buy Now An error occurred. Buy Now An error occurred. Book Novotel Hotel Landlord licences to stamp out ‘dangerous’ HMOs Banzai Japan Music Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPElmgQJGBo A council in north London has said it needs to bring back tougher rules to deal with “rogue landlords” of houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs). Brent Council says there is currently a “significant number” of such homes in the borough that are “substandard and potentially dangerous” and which pose a risk to residents. The council plans to restart a licensing scheme which saw 2,500 HMOs licensed and helped the council “improve standards and management practices”. It is now consulting on the plans and hopes to bring them in this autumn. Brent council says HMO licensing makes sure that houses are ‘safe, well-managed, and provide basic facilities for tenants’, and says it gives powers to officers to inspect licensed properties to ensure they meet the required standards. The consultation states: “It is important that the council uses all available tools to improve conditions for tenants in this sector. Licensing is one of the tools and plays a key role in this effort.” Book Novotel Hotel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJsGZL-zb54 A mandatory licence is already needed for HMOs with five or more people from two or more households. The additional rules would cover typically smaller HMOs with three or more people from two or more different households. Licensing imposes specific obligations on the landlord to demonstrate that their property is safe while enabling the council to enforce rules. The licence would cost landlords around £1,040 for the application, processing and inspection of up to five habitable rooms – and a further £25 per additional room. Banzai Japan Music Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3syHHGzkF_s Opinions wanted Councillor Fleur Donnelly-Jackson, said: “Over the past 20 years, the number of privately rented homes in Brent has grown, and now makes up almost half of all homes in the borough. “We want to make sure these homes are safe and good quality for tenants.” She added: “While we have seen significant improvements, we believe that another additional HMO licensing scheme is necessary to maintain and improve the management of HMOs in Brent. “We want to encourage residents to give their opinions on these new proposals for HMOs.” Book Novotel Hotel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR8YYeb4PMk Banzai Japan Social Media Fumi Fujisaki Idol Riko Ueno Idol Rino Ibusuki Idol Yunagi Nino Idol Shiori Fujisaki Idol Kana Ichinose Idol Hoshino Arice Idol Sasa Sasagawa Idol Kosaka Yuu Idol Tsukumo Aira Idol Maika Ando Idol Yuuki Mochimaru Idol