“Rogue” Landlord pleaded guilty for renting out bed in a shed

“Rogue” Landlord pleaded guilty for renting out bed in a shed

A landlord has been fined £5,000 for letting tenants sleep in an outhouse in Enfield, North London. 

Sanjiv Shah, who resides at Rowantree Road, Enfield, has been punished for housing tenants in a garden shed in Nags Head Road, despite being sent an order by Enfield Council prohibiting him not to rent it out. 

Mr Shah chose to ignore a Prohibition Order sent to him in September last year, following inspections that found his shed being used as accommodation which did not have appropriate insulation or even an independent power supply. 

It resulted in Mr Shah pleading guilty for failing to comply with the order issued by the council. 

In a statement, a council spokesperson said: “Inspections by Enfield Council officers highlighted hazards that left the building cold and uninhabitable. 

“Some hazards were assessed as posing a serious threat to the health or safety of people living or visiting the accommodation.” 

Shah was ordered to pay a fine of £2,600, costs of £2,441.35 and a victim surcharge of £170 at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court.  

Enfield Council’s leader Cllr Nesil Caliskan, commented: “Housing and making sure residents in Enfield have decent homes to live in is one of my top priorities for the Council. 

“There is no excuse for renting out property that does not meet the basic housing requirements. 

“Enfield Council will come down hard on unscrupulous landlords not meeting their responsibilities and who think they are above the law. 

“We will continue to strive to eliminate unacceptable housing in our borough – such as the so-called beds in shed. 

“We will safeguard those in our society who may be vulnerable and easy targets for rogue landlords.” 

In April 2018, a new ‘rogue’ landlord database went live after plans were set out by the Government to crackdown on unscrupulous landlords. The list of was set up to share with local authorities. 

The database was created by The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government which includes a list of all convicted landlords. Councils could then share the data among themselves more easily, so they can keep an eye on unruly landlords. 

The scheme has received some criticism because the list will not be available to the public. 

Do you think this scheme will improve the wellbeing of tenants? 

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