Nine landlords prohibited from renting properties in Glasgow

Nine landlords have been prohibited from renting properties in Glasgow following their failure to fulfil legal obligations.

The decision was reached by Glasgow City Council to deregister the offending landlords, six of whom own property in the low-income Govanhill area, making them liable to pay fines of up to £50,000 in the event of any successive attempts to let property.

Offences include the failure to produce evidence of certification, namely Energy Performance Certificates and Gas Safety Records, as well as any confirmation that their tenants received information packs.

The list of offenders includes Simon Tsang, Tauheed Hussain, Mohammed Adnan Hussain, Shakeel Shahid, and Hamid Akram, who own seven properties between them on Westmoreland Street, Govanhill.
Johan Mirza, who owns properties on Allison Street, Boyd Street, Jamieson Street as well as Bath Street has also been accused of operating properties below the tolerable housing standard, and has been previously convicted of assault with intent to rape.

A further three men owning properties in other areas of Glasgow have also been deregistered on the basis of their criminal convictions, including: Francis Green, son of the deceased gang lord Jamie Daniel; Jamil Ahmed and Graham Mills.

Shaban Rehman was also de-registered as a landlord in May last year after unlawfully taking £7,000 of deposits from tenants.

The SRC provides a number of services for those searching for rental property, including advice on how to avoid scams as well as a list of landlord responsibilities which can be found online. Advice includes searching online before the exchange of money for the landlord or letting agent’s name with the words “scam” or “fraud” to ensure their authenticity, as well as checking the landlord is registered with Glasgow City Council’s landlord registration section online. If a student still has doubts about a potential landlord, they are advised to visit the SRC
The SRC website also includes a comprehensive list of tenant rights, which is regularly updated, including changes made from the 1st of December 2016 by which tenants can ask the Housing and Property Chamber Tribunal to force their landlord to carry out repairs which have not been made, providing adequate records of correspondence between tenant and landlord are kept as evidence of the issue being reported.

Further details on HMO licences, unfair terms and fees and what information you should receive following the placement of a deposit can also be found on the website. Students are advised to call in to the SRC Advice Centre, located on the ground floor of the McIntyre Building, should they have any further doubts or concerns. All discussions are conducted in complete confidence with professionals.