A buy-to-let landlord who allowed tenants to occupy rooms without windows after failing to get planning consent for a block of flats has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Talwinder Singh, 57, was refused permission to build a block of six flats on Waterbeach Road in Slough, SL1, but having pressed ahead with the construction of the properties, he disregarded the planning enforcement notice served in September 2010 by illegally renting out all six flats to tenants.
Singh claimed that the property had been returned to a single dwelling, in line with the enforcement notice, and informed the council of this change.
But the rogue landlord actually installed temporary kitchens in the flats which could be dismantled and removed when council officers visited. He removed windows on the attic floor to give the impression that the rooms were not let, therefore leaving the tenants, with children, without natural light.
The landlord also charged his tenants additional fees for council tax, despite claiming to Slough Council that it was a single property.
Joe Cart, director of regeneration at Slough Borough Council, commented: “People and families in Slough deserve good accommodation and landlords who are not overcharging them for services they are not providing.”
Singh was sentenced to a 15-month prison term at Reading Crown Court, suspended for 18 months. He was fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £266,177, which included the illegally obtained rent money and unpaid council tax.
He was also ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work over 12 months. All the money needs to be paid within three months or he will face up to 30 months in jail.
“This successful prosecution is a result of a thorough and painstaking investigation by the council fraud team and has led to the recovery of a significant amount of lost council tax,” said director of finance and resources at Slough Council, Neil Wilcox.
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Slough is well known for dodgy 'Asian' landlords.
Look out this comment may upset/harm/harass/degrade/intimidate an individual or group or someone else.
Why have the ability to leave a comment and restrict it to such a degree it stops observations and comments which could evoke further discussion on this matter. Ridiculous!
It is becoming increasingly disturbing that Councils seem to be racially profiling those LL of colour.
You rarely see any LL of white being prosecuted whereas LL of colour and their non-traditional names are always in the media reported as being prosecuted.
Are there not any criminal LL of white that can be prosecuted?
By not fairly prosecuting it gives a distorted picture that the majority of rogue LL are from the ethnic minorities.
This surely cannot be right can it!?
So to provide balance councils should prosecute one LL of white with every LL of colour.
If Councils cannot find any LL of white then they will have to send vans out stating they are out to prosecute rogue LL of white who should declare themselves to the authorities as the criminals they are.
Can we not have this unfair profiling and prosecution of non- white LL investigated under the Race Relations Act?
I'm sure David Lammy would have something to say about this.
Yes we all want rid of criminal LL but DON'T tell me that none of them are people of white.
If this was the case it would mean indeed that the majority of criminal LL are from the ethnic minority community.
So I say to councils for balance you need to prosecute a LL of white today!!
Perhaps they are. Ever considered that?
Yet another one of those landlords with funny names getting the rest of us a bad name, how long before this comment is removed ?
What do you think about your own name, Mr Townshend? Don’t you think other people may find it funny? We should have respect for all the communities
One things for sure. All the hoops law abiding agents and LLs have had to go through won't affect the rogue LLs because they ignore it. So we all pay because of the crooks.
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