Fight a Rent Repayment Order (RRO)
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Bristol landlord £5000 Rent Repayment Order
24 Jun 2020 Two Bristol landlords have been ordered to repay nearly £5,000 following investigations by the council’s so called rogue landlord unit. One, Lucy Sherry, was found to have breached the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. She was found to have harassed her tenants, and did so with reasonable cause to believe that her conduct would lead to the tenants giving up occupation of the...
Criminal sentences after rental property carried “risk of death”
11 Sep 2020 Two suspended sentences, community service, a fine and disqualification from being a director - those form the penalty for a rogue landlord guilty of letting out a property as a dangerous and illegal hostel. After three years of serving prohibition notices and bringing the case through the courts, Kent Fire and Rescue Service and the Health and Safety Executive jointly brought legal...
Fourth conviction for rogue Beeston landlord
25 Nov 2019 Landlord Jack Collins of Woodlea Road, Yeadon, has been hit with court fines for a fourth time for failing to properly manage his rental properties. On 18 November 2019, Mr Collins was found guilty and ordered to pay £25,324.60 within two months for failing to maintain a property on Sefton Terrace, Beeston. Mr Collins had denied exposing vulnerable tenants to sub-standard housing...
£50,000 fines for Landlord and his company
19 Apr 2021 A property company and its sole director landlord have been convicted and ordered to pay more than £50,000 in fines and legal costs. Francis Investments (East Anglia) Limited, based in Ipswich, and the company’s sole director and owner of the property, Ralph Bernard, were both convicted on 10 charges. An investigation was started into the property by Ipswich council in June 2019...
BREAKING NEWS: Change to which Landlords can receive Rent Repayment Order.
Rakusen v Jepson and others appeal upheld and Upper Tribunal Decision Overturned. In what is the most important news for Landlords who find their property has been sublet unknowingly in Rent to Rent Residential to HMO situations. the Rent to Rent company will be held responsible. Following intricate calculations by Martin Rodger QC at the UTLC, these have been quashed at Appeal in the High...
Countrywide chain Beresford Adams and landlord together fined £30,000 over HMO
23 Sep 2019 Wrexham council discovers that HMO is unlicensed and that conditions at the property include inadequate fire safety provision. A landlord and her letting agent, 28-branch Countrywide chain Beresford Adams, must pay a total of £32,300 in fines, costs and victim surcharge after an HMO visited by inspectors in Wrexham found it to be unlicensed. Landlord Jane Sabio, who had pleaded...
Landlord found guilty of unlawful harassment and misleading practices
A rogue landlord in Gainsborough will be sentenced later this month after being found guilty of unlawful harassment towards his tenants and pursuing misleading and aggressive practices. Ragoopathy Naidu, 64, ordered his tenants to move out of their property inside an hour, in breach of their tenancy agreement. The charges were brought by Lincolnshire Trading Standards and West Lindsey...
Council adopts ‘zero-tolerance approach’ to rogue landlords
A private landlord has been fined by Willesden Magistrates Court for poor and potentially dangerous housing conditions following a prosecution by Brent Council. The prosecution of Monojor Ali, of Cairnfield Avenue, NW2, is one of more than fifty already made this year by Brent Council, which councillor Harbi Farah, cabinet member for housing, says “sends a clear message that the council is...
DOZENS of landlords have been fined under a crackdown on illegal immigration
Financial penalties totalling £37,000 were handed out in the first eight months after the Right to Rent scheme was rolled out across England, figures obtained by the Press Association reveal. The fines were issued to 62 landlords between the start of February and end of September last year - a rate of around one every four days. Right to Rent requires landlords or householders to establish that...
London landlord gets eye-watering £450,000 fine
Beds in Sheds: Samina Nadeem, of Malborough Road, Southall who had refused to demolish her “beds in sheds” after repeated warnings from the council, now faces a record fine of nearly £450,000 or 4 years in prison. An Ealing councillor described Nadeem as “obstructive and aggressive” and housing her tenants in “Dickensian” conditions. Nadeem had had repeated warnings from the council but still...
Landlords fined over £60,000 over 7 bed HMO
19 Apr 2021 Two landlords of a property in East London have been ordered to pay costs and fines totalling £61,057.05 after they were prosecuted for multiple housing offences. John Renvoize and Dedar Shah owners of a seven bed property in Dagenham were ordered to pay the fines following a case at Romford Magistrate Court. Following an inspection of the property in January 2018, Renvoize...
£140,000 in fines for buy to let couple failing to maintain properties
29 Aug 2019 A husband and wife pair of buy to let investors have been prosecuted after letting out a property that contained serious hazards and defects. Hamedur Choudhury and his wife Roshon let out two flats and staff accommodation above a restaurant in East Grinstead. Environmental health officers from Mid Sussex council inspected the property 18 months ago and discovered serious issues...
Landlords warned over housing rules as £16,000 fine dished out in Wolverhampton
Warnings have been issued to rogue landlords in Wolverhampton after council officers issued a £16,000 penalty to a homeowner flouting the rules. Wolverhampton council handed a Whitmore Reans landlord the huge financial penalty for running a house in multiple occupation (HMO) without a licence. It is the first time the council's housing team issued a civil penalty to a landlord for failing to...
Slum landlord family must pay £250k under crime proceeds act
Harsha, Chandni and Sanjay Shah crammed 31 tenants into four-bedroom Wembley house A family of slum landlords who crammed 31 people into a suburban four-bedroom house has been ordered to pay back almost £250,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The landlords were earning more than £100,000 a year from the enterprise, which involved squeezing tenants on “sleeping shifts” into rooms fitted with up...
London Borough of Camden secures ASBO injunction & exclusion zone against landlord
30 Jul 2021 Camden council in north London has become the first local authority to secure an anti-social behaviour injunction against a landlord in order to protect private tenants from illegal eviction and harassment. The council secured the injunction against landlord Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasool, aged 29. Working in partnership with the Met Police, Camden brought the case against Rasool after...
Court fines Landlord £26,000 for rats and cockroaches in un-declared HMO
22 Jul 2020 A pregnant woman was among nine people put “at risk” by their landlords, who allowed their tenants’ home to become infested with rats and cockroaches. Barnet Council says its enforcement officers found a “severe cockroach infestation” at 80 Highfield Avenue in Golders Green, Barnet, while the stairs and flooring had been “partially eaten by rats”. Officers also...
Own goal! Failure to licence HMO cost ex-footballer £34,000
23 Feb 2021 A landlord who failed to licence his properties has been ordered to pay back over £8,000 in rent. Dexter Blackstock, a former professional footballer, has been told he has to refund £8,592.98 in housing benefit that he was paid for two unlicensed properties. Blackstock was previously convicted of nine offences of failing to licence properties under Nottingham council's...
New figures reveal thousands of tenants are at risk of death in their properties
New figures reveal thousands of tenants are at risk of death in their properties Shocking stats emerged after two men died in a four-bedroom Edgware home They were living with at least five others in the ramshackle unlicensed property Nearly three quarters of a million people are living in dirty or unsafe homes and thousands of lives are at risk because of rogue landlords, new figures reveal....
Somerset Council warns Landlords could be hit with financial penalties of up to £30,000
9 MAR 2019 North Somerset council is cracking down on rogue landlords Landlords are being warned they face financial penalties of up to £30,000 if they fail to keep their rented properties in good condition. North Somerset Council bosses have issued the warning as the authority steps up its efforts to tackle poor rented accommodation in the area. Officers from the private rented sector housing...
Confessions of a Council HMO Enforcement Officer
11 Nov 2021 Des Taylor - Casework Director - Landlord Licencing & Defence Today we had an unusual communication This morning was one of those mornings where you receive a message and punch your fist in the air with delight – discovering that there are still some good, discipline-fashioned Enforcement Officers standing up and enforcing in the right way. This sort of good-news never...
Two Staffordshire landlords fines for health and safety breaches
11 Jun 2019 Two landlords in Staffordshire have been ordered to pay more £5,000 after allowing their tenants to live in poor conditions Brian Kite was fined £256 and ordered to also pay £2,378 in costs and a victim surcharge of £30, while Beryl Kite was fined £207 and ordered to also pay £2,378.88 in costs and a victim surcharge of £30 – a total of £5,279.88, after pleading guilty at North...
Tribunal Tells Coventry City Council that £31,499 Landlord Penalty is ’not in any way reasonable’ and slashes it to £3,300
24 Oct 2019 In the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) the Landlord Mr Tan Sandhu appealed against a fixed penalty of £24,649 (initially £31,499) imposed by Coventry City Council for breaches of the Housing Act 2004. Reviewing the Tribunal’s decision, Phil Turtle, compliance consultant with Landlord Licensing and Defence said “Whilst we cannot condone a landlord not knowing and / or failing...
Bristol housing charity tops list of UK’s most-prosecuted landlords
Charity set up to house homeless among landlords convicted of making money from substandard properties but still letting homes to tenants, research finds A Bristol-based charity that receives thousands of pounds in housing benefit to accommodate vulnerable people has topped a list of the UK’s most-prosecuted landlords compiled. Alternative Housing, which was established to provide accommodation...
Mandatory Professional Qualification to be a Landlord says Commission
05 May 2020 A commission investigating affordable homes in the UK has called for annual private sector rent increases to be limited to a new index of income growth and for landlords to pay tenants’ removal costs in some circumstances. The Affordable Housing Commission also recommends that “charging more than the permitted rent increase would be an offence, with the landlord facing a fine...
Landlords advised to watch out as Councils accused of not issuing enough Rent Repayment Orders
March 29, 2019 Councils in England have been accused of failing to use powers to tackle rogue landlords in the private rented sector. A response to a parliamentary question this week on the use of rent repayment orders (RROs) revealed that just three have been issued by local authorities to claw back Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit paid through rent in the 18 months to...
Reading Borough Council fine landlord £66k for failing to meet fire safety requirements
13 Jan 2021 A LANDLORD has been slapped with a £66,000 fine over 'serious' safety breaches including plug sockets next to the shower, and repairs that risked residents being trapped in a fire. In a record attempt by Reading Borough Council (RBC) to clamp down on landlords of HMOs (Houses of Multiple Occupation) failing to reach required standards, it is hoped that last month's prosecution will...
Landlord gets £200k fine for planning offence, proceeds of crime and confiscation order
11 Mar 2021 A landlord who illegally turned a London property into 13 flats has been hit by nearly £200,000 in fines, costs and a confiscation order. Inanc Elitok pleaded guilty to ignoring two previous notices at a hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court, in a case brought by Waltham Forest council. Clyde Loakes, the council deputy leader, says: “Even after being given two enforcement notices for...
Fine of up to £30,000 for failing to comply as Slough introduces 3 person HMO and Selective Licensing
06 Jun 2019 Slough Borough Council approved the implementation of two discretionary licensing schemes for residential property in Slough. Therefore from 1 July 2019 there will be three property licensing schemes in operation in Slough: Additional licensing for all HMOs (not covered by mandatory scheme, i.e. smaller HMOs)Selective licensing of all privately rented property covering most of...
I would have sent you to prison if I could – Judge tells Landlord
10 Dec 2019 A landlord has been ordered to pay almost £20,000 and has been told by a judge that he was meaner than Scrooge. George Lindsay, from Birmingham, has pleaded guilty of failing to obtain an HMO licence and to 13 breaches of HMO Management Regulations. He has been ordered to pay a fine of £19,970. When issuing the sentence, the district judge commented that Scrooge was a philanthropist...
Nowhere for HMO landlords to hide as Councils turn to Artificial Intelligence
21 Jul 2021 How long does it take for your Council to work out you’re running an unlicensed HMO? Less than one day! This was confirmed for us this week when a worried landlord got in touch with our landlords defence consultancy team. Here’s the situation: Landlord completes on an HMO purchase on the 30th June. On the 1st July one of the London Borough Councils sends the new owner a letter...
Landlords ordered to pay more than £6k for HMO failings
16 May 2019 A buy-to-let landlord has been ordered to pay more than £6,000 in relation to 12 charges under the Housing Act after council officers found numerous breaches of regulations at a house in multiple occupation ( HMO ) ranging from defective windows to failing to produce a gas safety certificate. Mahmut Gilgil, of Blandford Road, BH15, was convicted of a series of failings at the HMO,...
Leading council has so far fined rogue agents and landlords £100,000
Brent Council is one London's key boroughs leading the charge against poor housing standards. Brent Council, which says it has fined agents and landlords £100,000 since introducing civil penalties last year, revealed it had collected £63,500 of the fines levied and is waiting to collect the remainder under its 49-day payment rules. “When we start the process of issuing a Civil Penalty Notice...
£10k fine and Criminal Behaviour Order for illegal eviction by Agent
30 Apr 2021 A lettings agency director has been issued with a Criminal Behaviour Order for unlawfully evicting a tenant back in 2019. CFDP Ltd, trading as Belvoir Nuneaton and Hinckley, along with its director Clayton Foston, have been taken to court by Hinckley & Bosworth council for removing the possessions and changing the locks of a tenant’s flat while the tenant was unwell and...
Firm fined £18,000 for allowing Bristol knotweed ‘forest’ to grow so high it could be seen from space
The invasive plant was allowed to spread for 10 years and was blocking light from neighbouring homes. Bristol City Council prosecuted the landlord MB Estate Limited on behalf of seven residents using anti-social behaviour laws. It is thought to be the first prosecution of its type. Amie King moved into a £400,000 property in Ash Road, in the trendy Horfield area of the city, in 2007 and soon...
“Screw your Landlord” Westminster City Council launches online tool encouraging HMO Tenants to claim Rent Repayment Orders
In a move designed to punish as many landlords as possible with crucifying Rent Repayment Orders of up to 12 months rent, City of Westminster has launched a "find out of you can screw your landlord" tool on their website. They are obviously using this 'hook' to get tenants to grass-up landlords who have not paid their 'licence tax'. Cynically, It has everything to do with punishing landlords for...
Landlord punished over safety case
21 Jan 2013 A LANDLORD risked his own tenants' lives by allowing them to stack furniture on a staircase. He has now been prosecuted by the city council for failing to keep the fire escape of his Chorlton property clear. The council decided to take legal action after making a number of visits to Alan Selkirk's property on Oswald Road. Manchester Magistrates Court heard that between September and...
Landlord hit with £66,000 bill after sending in heavies to kick tenant out
27 Jun 2019 A rogue landlord has been ordered to pay a £60,170 fine and £6,000 court costs after being found guilty of making tenants’ lives a misery. The fine is the biggest financial penalty that Brent Council in London has secured to date. The council says it is a reflection of the “truly appalling conditions” tenants were living in. Hugo Pulqueiro sent in the heavies to remove the belongings...
University acts Criminally putting Landlords in Danger of Prosecution
23 Oct 2020 Following the recent revelation that the University of Warwick is dumping hundreds of private landlords in favour of its own student accommodation , it has today come to light that as part of this strategy it appears to have deliberately put landlords subject to Coventry City Council’s controversial Additional Licensing scheme at risk of prosecution and massive fines. These landlords...
Landlord get £13,850 in fines for no HMO licence
19 Jan 2021 A landlord has been fined £10,000 by her local council for failing to licence a HMO. Tracey Davies of Bath was found guilty in her absence when the case came before magistrates in the city. The local authority - which says it was “acting on information received that the property was likely to be operating as an illegal HMO” - was inspected back in February of last year. The...
Agents & Landlords urged to beware council crackdown and heavy fines
07 May 2021 A crackdown is now underway withTrading Standards divisions now taking an even stricter approach to enforcement of compliance obligations. This is yet another assault on the wallets of letting agents and landlords in addition to ever increasing compliance enforcement by the growing army of council housing revenue generation police (aka Housing Enforcement Officers).Three recent cases...
Agent claiming to be unaware property was HMO, loses appeal over £20k fine
A lettings agent that claimed that it was unaware a property was a house in multiple occupation (HMO) has lost its appeal over a £20,000 fine. In January this year Altavon property management ltd and the landlord of the property, Adrian Simion, 30, had been found guilty at Luton Magistrates court of a series of management regulations breaches relating to the safety and running of houses in...
Landlord fined for keeping tenant’s deposit in a tin
15 Oct 2020 A landlord has been ordered to pay his ex-tenant £1,500 after failing to protect her deposit with an approved scheme. The Housing and Property Chamber First-tier tribunal for Scotland found that Mark Bradley of Gourock had not protected his tenant’s deposit for five and a half years, when he should have protected it within 30 working days of the start of the tenancy. In April 2014,...
Council boasts of issuing 133 penalty notices and 23 improvement notices
02 Jul 2019 A London council wants to extend its private rental sector licensing scheme - and in doing so is boasting of the number of notices it’s so far issued against landlords. Havering council has begun a consultation looking at extending its scheme, launched initially in March 2018. As part of the publicity promoting its extension, the council says it has issued 133 financial penalty...
Council announces free property licensing!
10 Jun 2021 Instead of charging landlords around £1,000 like most UK councils - for the dubious honour of going into a database - which the council will then use so they can easily inspect properties and issue eye watering fines, Jersey (which is of course part of the UK) is to offer this for free. They did try to charge for it but we’re told by their government that they can only offer this...
Landlord fined £6,000 for not having HMO licenses
A landlord has been fined for not licensing 12 buy-to-let properties in the North Ormesby area of Middlesbrough. John Bradley, 39, was the first landlord to be brought to court for not signing up to the scheme since Middlesbrough Council introduced compulsory £580 licences for those who rent out property in the local area in a bid to crackdown on rogue landlords. But while Bradley admitted to...
Angry landlord chucks council safety inspector down the stairs in bid to thwart property inspection
13 Jun 2019 He also grabbed him in a bear hug. A landlord in Lincoln grabbed a council worker and pushed him down the stairs in a bid to stop him inspecting his property, a court heard. Brian Goodwin was unhappy after two City of Lincoln Council private housing officers called to carry out a safety inspection on the home he owns in Union Road in July 2018. The two workers were doing the checks...
Massive fines given to landlords for first selective licensing offences
05 Dec 2017 Four Gainsborough landlords have been fined and ordered to pay costs totalling £232,155.68. They are the first landlords to be prosecuted under West Lindsey District Council’s selective licensing scheme. Magistrates heard one case at Lincoln in October and sentenced three others the same day, sending a clear message to landlords that tough penalties will be issued where properties...
Landlord gets £2,249 fine and criminal record for illegal eviction
18 May 2021 Landlord Antanas Klibavicius has pleaded guilty to illegally evicting his tenant and not taking any steps towards ending the tenancy properly and legally. Klibavicius, from Sheffield, pleaded guilty to unlawfully depriving his tenant of accommodation contrary to s1(2) Protection from Eviction Act 1977. Taking into account Klibavicius’ early guilty plea, magistrates...
Rent-to-renter fined £20,000 for illegally sub-letting HMO
04 Oct 2019 In an unusual and possibly unique case Brent council in London has prosecuted a tenant who sub-let property without agent's knowledge. A tenant in London has been fined £16,000 for sub-letting a house illegally as an HMO in a move that many in the industry will welcome as councils have begun to bear down heavily on agents and landlords who break the rules. The tenant, who has been...
Oxford landlord issued financial penalty of £15,624 for HMO offences
An Oxford landlord has been issued a financial penalty of £15,624 for controlling an unsafe House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in the Cowley area of Oxford. The East Oxford-based landlord, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was investigated after environmental health officers from Oxford City Council visited a rented property on Kames Close in August 2017. The house was found to be an...
Landlord: If you’ve just searched for the term Rent Repayment Order, then the chances are very high that you’ve just received a letter with an “Application by Tenant or Local Housing Authority for a Rent Repayment Order” like that on the right. OR, the first you hear about the Rent Repayment claim against you might be a Notice from the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) dropping on your doormat..
Do NOT IGNORE this application form or the Tribunal Notice. Get professional assistance IMMEDIATELY.
Go here now and book a 1-hour Case Review Session or Phone 0208 088 0788
*** DO NOT DISCUSS YOUR LETTER OR NOTICE WITH ANYONE AT THE COUNCIL OR WITH YOUR TENANTS BEFORE YOU TAKE PROFESSIONAL ADVICE ***
The Application form or Notice will tell you WHO is making the claim against you.
If your property is a side-let, it will be the tenant or the Council.
If your property is an HMO, it may only be one or two of your tenants.
Do not be fooled. The Council will go out of its way to persuade the remainder of your tenants to make a claim because they believe all landlords are criminals and must be punished. Or the no-win, no-fee solicitors will do so in an attempt to increase their fees. In fact they will attempt to track down ALL of your former tenants to persuade them also to make RRO claims against you.
If any of your tenants were claiming benefits towards rent such as Housing Benefit or Universal Credit then the Council will ALSO look to make its own RRO claim against you, because they believe you should provide free housing to their claimants.
Go here now and book a 1-hour Case Review Session or Phone 0208 088 0788
The Application Form or Notice will tell you the GROUNDS under which the 12 months’ Rent Repayment Order claim is being made
It could be any or several of these:
- Unlicensed property* (selective licensing)
- Unlicensed HMO* (mandatory or additional HMS licensing)
- Illegal eviction (far too easy to do by accident)
- Harassment of tenant (very easy for tenants to claim you did this)
- Failure to comply with a Council Improvement Notice
- Failure to comply with a Council Prohibition Notice
* As licences cannot be transferred between old and new owners, these situations are very easy to fall into accidentally. Even if you’ve left the property to a sub-landlord or rent-to-rent operator – you as superior landlord are still very much liable under a Rent Repayment Order.
Go here now and book a 1-hour Case Review Session or Phone 0208 088 0788
The First Tier Tribunal Notice
If this is the first indication you receive of an impending RRO claim, it means the claimant did not bother to send you the application form. This happens a lot. It means the the process has been ongoing for many weeks whilst you were not aware. You must now act swiftly.
The FTT Notice will give you important instructions about ‘preparing a bundle’ and when it needs to be delivered to the Tribunal.
Do not reply until you have professional representation.
Do not contact the First Tier Tribunal, your tenants or the Council.
You can only make things worse. Often very MUCH worse.
Go here now and book a 1-hour Case Review Session or Phone 0208 088 0788
What You Must Do Immediately
You absolutely must get professional help. You could go to a solicitor but most have very little knowledge of this highly specialist area and we frequently see solicitors making matters worse due to lack of specialist Housing Act and Rent Repayment Order skills.
You should book an urgent consultation with one of our specialist Rent Repayment Order negotiators who will assess your situation and represent you in negotiations to settle the claims against you on far more favourable terms than you’d get on your own.
Go here now and book a 1-hour case review session and then we will explain how we can represent you and make the whole process far less painful, mentally damaging and expensive.
Contact the RRO Defence Experts NOW. Phone 0208 088 0788 or complete this form
