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Two London Landlords Fined for Ignoring Council Notices
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Two rogue landlords in Southall, west London, have been found guilty of failing to comply with council notices and orders to make their substandard rental properties safe.
Ealing Borough Council prosecuted Ahdil Saddiq – also known as Mohammed Jameel Choudhry and Jameel M Choudhry – and Jasjeet Singh Punny.
Two London Landlords Fined for Ignoring Council Notices
Saddiq was prosecuted for failing to comply with a prohibition order and demolition order served by the council’s House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) team, due to a damp, dangerous and illegal outhouse at the rear of 5 Heathway, The Common, Southall.
When council officers inspected the outhouse in 2012, they discovered mould, damp and cold conditions, and several electrical and fire safety hazards.
In October 2012, a prohibition order was issued forbidding anyone to live or sleep there. However, subsequent inspections found that the landlord had ignored the order, and the outhouse was still occupied.
In January 2014, the council served a demolition order, requiring the outhouse to be destroyed. Saddiq also ignored this notice, leading to the council stepping in and demolishing the outhouse.
Saddiq must now pay the council’s demolition costs of around £18,000, or a charge will be placed against the property.
On 7th January, Saddiq appeared at Ealing Magistrates’ Court and was found guilty of six charges regarding the failure to comply with the prohibition and demolition orders. He was ordered to pay a £560 fine and the council’s legal costs of £2,616, alongside the £18,000 demolition costs.
Separately, Punny was prosecuted for failing to comply with an improvement notice served on his property at 12 Oakleigh Court, Southall.
Punny was renting the property out to a mother and her young, asthmatic child. When officers inspected the home, they found mould covering the walls, a large sliding door not fixed to the wall, so at risk of falling, and kitchen cabinets also not secured properly to the wall.
In September 2014, the council served an improvement notice, ordering Punny to make improvements. However, he ignored all attempts by the officers to contact him.
He failed to make the property safe, and therefore appeared before Ealing Magistrates’ Court on 7th January where he was found guilty of failing to comply with the notice. He was issued a fine and ordered to pay council costs totalling £4,964.
Councillor Ranjit Dheer, the Cabinet Member for Safety, Culture and Community Services at Ealing Borough Council, insists: “There is no place in this borough for slum landlords who are willing to put their tenants’ health and safety at risk for pure profit.
“Ealing Council is working hard to make sure that dangerous landlords feel the full weight of our powers and I am delighted to see these two selfish and irresponsible individuals found guilty.”1
1 http://www.ealing.gov.uk/news/article/1428/ealing_council_brings_rogue_landlords_to_justice
