A landlord has been ordered to pay more than £3,500 after pleading guilty to allowing flats to be occupied which were prohibited from being used as residential accommodation, failing to register a rented property, and managing it without the required licence.
Said Moussef appeared at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to six charges.
The prosecution followed a complaint received in March 2026. An inspection found that the first and second-floor flats were occupied despite being subject to Prohibition Orders.
The required works had not been completed, and Mr Moussef told officers under caution that he had re-let the flats in October and November 2025.
Officers identified several hazards at the property, including an inadequate fire alarm system, incomplete or defective fire doors, damp, trip and fall hazards, and concerns about the layout of the second-floor flat.
Occupants of the first-floor flat also had no control over their heating because it was supplied by a boiler located in the ground-floor flat, to which they had no access.
A Rent Smart Wales spokesperson says: “Landlords have clear legal responsibilities when renting out property in Cardiff, including ensuring they meet the registration and licensing requirements of Rent Smart Wales.
“These requirements are in place for an important reason. They help support proper standards in the private rented sector and provide greater protection for tenants.
“In this case, the property was not registered, and the landlord was not licensed to manage it. Flats had also been re-let despite Prohibition Orders remaining in place. While private sector landlords make an invaluable contribution to Cardiff’s housing stock, the Council will act where landlords fail to meet their legal responsibilities and put tenants at risk.
“Details of this prosecution have been sent to Rent Smart Wales who will now consider whether Mr. Moussef remains a fit and proper person to be licensed to manage his portfolio of privately rented accommodation in Cardiff.”
The charges included offences under Sections 4 and 7 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 for failing to register the rented property and failing to hold the required licence to manage it.
Checks with Rent Smart Wales confirmed that the flats at the property were not registered and that Moussef was not licensed to manage them.
Moussef was fined £1,520 for the Rent Smart Wales offences. He was also fined £476 for offences relating to breaches of two Prohibition Orders and was ordered to pay Cardiff council’s costs of £750 and a victim surcharge of £763, bringing the total amount payable to £3,509.
