Landlords hit with rent ban
FOUR rogue landlords, including a child sex offender, have been banned from renting out homes.
Among the four is Muhammed Anwar who was jailed for six years in relation to child sexual abuse.
The Govanhill landlord tried to re-apply for registration while still in prison, but was blocked by a council committee.
A CONVICTED child sex offender who tried to apply for a landlord’s permit from behind bars has been banned from renting out homes.
Muhammed Anwar had been convicted and jailed for six years for three offences in relation to child sexual abuse, having previously been on the landlords register.
The Govanhill landlord tried to re-apply while still in prison, but was blocked by a council committee along with three other rogue landlords.
Glasgow City Council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee decided to revoke registration from Akhtar Ali, Ashiq Mohammed and Shabnam Sattar for property-related issues.
They had previously received complaints about the landlords and reviewed their registration.
If any of the men rent out property in future, they could face prosecution or a fine of up to £50,000.
Concerns were raised about Akthar Ali’s property on Glenapp Street after a fire, which resulted in two people being taken to hospital.
An inspection of other homes on Prince Edward Street, Garturk Street and Hickman Street all revealed that the gas and electricity meters had been by-passed and that the flats had no smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
The homes didn’t meet the Tolerable Standard for rental property and Ali was deemed unfit to be registered as a landlord.
Ashiq Mohammed and Shabnam Sattar were both found no longer fit to be landlords after they failed to adhere to rules for property in Govanhill’s Enhanced Enforcement Area.
The pair failed to provide enhanced criminal record certificates, current building insurance policies, confirmation form tennants that they had received their information packs, gas safety and energy performance certificates.
A spokesman for the council said: “We are very pleased that the work of the Landlord Registration Unit has been endorsed by the Licensing Committee.
“Our team is determined to ensure that those people on the Landlord Register are fit to be landlords.
“Whenever there is evidence that a landlord is no longer a suitable person to rent out property or they fail to manage their property appropriately, we will always seek to take action against them.
“Govanhill has been an area of the city where particular prob- lems with landlords have been identified.
“The additional powers available to us through Govanhill’s Enhanced Enforcement Area are helping us to improve housing standards in the area.”
At a previous committee meeting in November, six Govanhill landlords were removed from the Landlord Register or had their application for registration rejected.