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Telford rogue landlord becomes first in England to receive banning order
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
For the first time in England, a rogue landlord has officially been banned from the private rental sector (PRS).
A tribunal heard that Telford rogue landlord David Beattie made attempts to mislead his tenants of their legal rights and security of tenure by issuing them a licence instead of an assured shorthold tenancy.
These licences stated that the tenants could be evicted at 48 hours’ notice or less.
Telford and Wrekin Council has ordered Beattie to repay housing benefit paid to him as well as banning him from being a landlord. This comes to a total of £1,924.65 for two former tenants from 2018.
The tribunal was informed that he has previous convictions, on top of the banning order and rent repayment order applied for by the Council.
Despite knowing that he would be refused a HMO
Telford and Wrekin Council officers have discovered that five people had been living there, as part of an investigation in 2018.
With this banning order in place, Beattie cannot legally let a house or be involved in property management for the next five years.
However, the tenants already living in his seven properties will be allowed to remain there until the end of their tenancies.
Councillor Richard Overton, cabinet member for enforcement at Telford and Wrekin Council, has commented: “This is a landmark case; the first banning order to be applied since it became part of law more than a year ago.
“It shows how seriously we take the issue of rogue landlords.
“It is thanks to the hard work and dedication of our officers that once his existing leases expire this now former landlord can no longer continue to operate until 2024.”