Landlords Fined for Harassment and Safety Breaches

A landlord was handed a suspended prison sentence and a £20,000 fine for harassing a tenant and leaving her homeless after an unlawful eviction.

Besides being found guilty of unlawful eviction, builder Qamil Cama, from Brent, North London, was also convicted of illegally letting the home in breach of a council enforcement notice.

Willesdon Magistrates heard the unnamed tenant paid £800 rent monthly for the home. The amount included bills, but Cama demanded extra cash to cover them.

When the tenant questioned the amounts, she said Cama was aggressive and at one time, pushed her in the chest.

Cama and the tenant had several arguments over the bills. Once, he let himself into the home at 7 am, demanding the cash. She also said he tossed her and her belongings onto the street.

The planning enforcement notice related to Coma being granted permission to build two garages, but the plot was turned into a house instead, which he rented out.

Magistrates found Coma guilty of failing to comply with the enforcement notice and two offences relating to the eviction.

He was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months, ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, 10 days of rehabilitation, and to pay £10,000 in fines and costs plus £10,000 compensation to the tenant.

Fines upped 500% for ignoring housing laws

Repeat offender landlord Ballpark Property Ltd had licensing fines upped 500 per cent by a judge who decided lower fines for similar offences were no deterrent to the company.

Liverpool City Council prosecuted the firm for failing to take out selective licences for eight homes.

Lawyers for the company agreed the firm had a history of evading property licences.

The judge argued the previous £200 for each offence 'failed as a deterrent' and ordered Ballpark Property should pay £1,000 a property - totalling £8,000 plus £4,606 in costs.

Since 2002, the council has inspected 9,000 properties and prosecuted 14 landlords.

Second fine this year at same property

Failing to repair leaks and deal with damp, mould and other health and safety issues cost landlord Ramazan Ali £14,498 - the second fine imposed at the same property this year.

Ali, 31, was found guilty of several housing offences in his absence at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court.

The issues related to a council inspection of a buy-to-let home in Derby. Housing officers found that the ceilings were damp due to leaks and several fire safety problems. The leaks had partially collapsed the kitchen ceiling.

An improvement notice was issued, which Ali ignored.

He was ordered to pay a £10,000 fine, a £2,000 victim surcharge and costs of £2,498.

In an earlier prosecution over the management of the property, Ali was fined £2,000 plus a victim surcharge of £800.

Ignoring planners costs landlord £65,000

A landlord with planning permission to let six flats over a shop in Cardiff was found to have squeezed another five flats into the three-storey building.

Mohammed Choudhury and his property company, Pine Best Ltd, were fined £54,000 with £10,000 costs for the planning offences, plus health and fire safety issues at the flats.

The flats were subject to an emergency prohibition order issued in March 2018 due to poor fire safety, which meant they could not be occupied or let. However, Choudhury ignored the order and continued to let the flats.