A new piece of legislation has been invoked to ban a landlord from any involvement in the private rental sector for the next five years - and the move has been welcomed by a firm of property solicitors.
Letting Agent Today has already reported that in a case brought by Telford & Wrekin council, David Beattie has been banned from being a landlord and ordered to pay back housing benefit paid to him by the authority for two of his former tenants.
At a tribunal over the summer The Property Chamber in Birmingham heard that Beattie was not a fit and proper person to hold a licence for a HMO. The tribunal also found that Beattie had issued a licence instead of an assured shorthold tenancy in a deliberate attempt to mislead tenants as to their legal rights and security of tenure.
The licences stated to tenants that they could be evicted in 48 hours or fewer.
Now the banning has been welcomed by Thursfields Solicitors; the firm says it shows how the rarely-used law - the Housing and Planning Act 2016 - cannot be ignored.
Lauren Bryan, a specialist lawyer in property disputes at Thursfields, says: “This is the first person in England to be banned from being a landlord under new legislation brought in a year ago.
“The Housing and Planning Act 2016 provides new powers which permit local housing authorities to seek banning orders where landlords or property agents have been convicted of a banning order offence.
“In this case, the landlord had already been refused an HMO licence in 2015 because he ‘was not a fit and proper person’, and yet the hearing heard he had continued to run the house and advertise rooms to let.
“He also issued a different licence to tenants – stating they could be evicted in 48 hours or less – instead of an assured short-hold tenancy.”
Bryan adds: “This legal action highlights new powers to protect tenants and tackle landlords who flout the law.”
The tribunal stated that Beattie’s licences were “a deliberate attempt to mislead tenants as to their legal rights and security of tenure”.
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So he now gets his wife/girlfriend/partner/friend to let the property for him. He only has to pay Housing benefit back - what about the tenants who paid with their own money - do they not deserve some recompense?
It seems you get greater penalties for inadvertently missing ticking a box than you do for serious misdemeanours like this.
Ban him for life. Hes a criminal. Life ban is needed. Professional LLs dont operate like this.
Life Ban is only deterrent.
And this is why we all need access to the rogue Landlords register not just the councils, as an agent or tenant will inadvertently continue to work with banned Landlords if they dont have access to correct information. Wont help if he gets someone else to rent them out but better than leaving us in the dark!
Councils are not remotely fit to sentence people and destroy their livelihood. As law and order is breaking down in the UK we need to tighten up on who can legally destroy other people by setting up a data base and giving out information.
I recently had a dreadful tenant who deliberately did not pay rent, rates and electric after moving in. I managed to avoid most of the electric but the rates I had to pay or get a criminal record. Don't try and tell me how wonderful b councils are.
Yes I can accept the above council have a problem but let us keep the problem where it belongs and not destroy all other landlords and tenants.
You are NOT required to pay utility bills for miscreant tenants.
I have had tenants not pay thousands and I have NEVER paid THEIR bills..
Get smart meters installed
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