Landlord hit with fine for illegally evicting tenant

A landlord has been prosecuted and fined for evicting a tenant illegally. 

Last week, Suhail Mahmood, 30, was convicted at Sheffield Magistrates' Court and ordered to pay fines totalling £3,700.

The landlord was prosecuted by Sheffield City Council after telling a tenant to move out and then removing and changing locks to the rental property just days later.

Mahmood's conviction, on August 29, came on the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. 

The landlord's costs included £700 in tenant compensation, a £2,000 fine and £1,000 in court costs.

“It’s not right that a landlord thinks it’s acceptable to give notice on their property and expect someone to move out within a matter of days,” said Councillor Jayne Dunn, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety at Sheffield City Council.

“These are people’s homes and they need some security.”

“We put a huge amount of time into clamping down on bad letting practices and I am determined to keep this up," she added.

“Luckily we have some excellent landlords in our city and the vast majority meet their legal responsibilities.”
Councillor Dunn said she wanted Mahmood's case to act as a 'warning' to others.

“We can act and will act,” she said.

The conviction was the second made under the Protection from Eviction Act by the local authority within a week.

On August 24, another landlord was given an electronically-tagged curfew order and ordered to pay £650 in court costs, plus an £85 victim surcharge.

Meanwhile, today the five-day trial of another Sheffield landlord, Mark Cashin, begins at Sheffield Crown Court.

The landlord has been charged with five offences, relating to harassment and unlawful eviction.

Cashin was fined almost £30,000 last November in what Sheffield City Council described as its biggest ever case against a criminal landlord.