Landlord Banned for Letting Unlicensed Property

A landlord who pocketed money from sub-letting rooms in a decrepit, unlicensed shared house was banned from letting or managing rental property for three years.

The First-Tier Tribunal banned Mamataj Konica following her conviction at Thames Magistrates Court for letting a house in Leytonstone, East London, to 12 tenants, where she pleaded not guilty to seven housing offences.

She was fined £10,000 for renting out the property, which had no licence, mould, damp, heating, or windows. Some rooms had no windows, and some tenants lived in a garage.

Konica tried to avoid investigation by feigning illness or failing to respond to housing officers from Waltham Forest Council after tenants raised complaints about the state of the property.

Despite Konica’s denial, tribunal judge Nikki Carr ruled she was the landlord.

Charge for overnight guests

A landlord was ordered to return a £800 holding deposit when a potential renter refused to sign a tenancy agreement, which included a clause demanding a £30 payment for any guest staying overnight at the property.

Noah Hardwicke told the First-Tier Tribunal that he had viewed a room at a shared house in Acton, West London, and paid the deposit before signing the tenancy agreement.

He discovered the clause on reading the contract and pulled out of the deal when the landlord refused to remove it.

Landlord Henryka Senet-Larson told the tribunal she was out of pocket because she had to cancel three other viewings and return booking fees when she took Hardwicke’s deposit. She also claimed she had lost £675 in rent.

The tribunal ruled that no contract had been signed and that Hardwicke was never a tenant, making the deposit an illegal charge under the Tenant Fees Act and that it should be repaid in full.

Illegal eviction

When the landlord changed the locks, a nurse who refused to accept two weeks’ notice to quit was locked out of his rented home.

Sunday Akinwale paid £590 a month rent for a room in an unlicensed house in multiple occupation (HMO) with a shared kitchen and bathrooms in Wallington, Surrey.

The landlord, Samuel Saibu, claimed the house was his family home, and he sometimes took in lodgers.

Although he was sub-letting the house to Akinwale and others, Saibu told the First-Tier Tribunal he was subject to an eviction order for unpaid rent of £8,586. He also owed money for council tax and utility bills.

The First-Tier Tribunal ruled that Saibu ran an unlicensed share house and granted Akinwole a rent repayment order of £4,872 plus £300 costs.

Vigilante tenants kidnap scammer

Vigilante tenants kidnapped a fraudster running a rent scam and tortured him for the return of a £400 deposit.

The tenants - Zaire Jackson-Burchall, 27, Jah’rico Smith-Gardiner, 25, and his sister Shanikae Smith-Gardiner, 28 - grabbed the scammer in Bradford and drove him to Sheffield, where they beat him and pulled out a fingernail.

Shahnikae Smith-Gardiner had paid the deposit for a flat, but when she went to view the property, she discovered the block was derelict and unfit for living. With no response, she demanded her deposit and enlisted the others to help her regain the cash.

However, police arrived to rescue the crook, Bradford Crown Court was told.

In court, Zaire Jackson-Burchall was found guilty of kidnap and false imprisonment. He was sentenced to six years and eight months on both counts, running concurrently.

Jah’rico Smith-Gardiner was sentenced to five years for kidnap and false imprisonment, to run consecutively and 18 months for blackmail, to run concurrently.

Shanikae Smith-Gardiner was sentenced to five years for kidnap and false imprisonment, to run concurrently.