Even if you are a landlord that complies with regulations and provides a strong service to tenants, you need to be aware of the risk of rogue landlords Rogue landlords impact on the whole industry and if you are a good landlord, you may still find that you are affected by the actions of these landlords.

After all, anything which paints the industry and sector in a negative light will impact on you, and therefore, landlords that operate in an efficient and effective manner should be pleased to see that there is a crackdown on rogue landlords.

The Magistrates Court in Southampton recently handed a suspended prison sentence to a landlord, along with fines more than £10,000 to a landlord that had been found guilty of harassing his tenant and then illegally evicting them. The landlord, Simon Knight, has also been punished with a 16-week curfew, so there is a stronger level of punishment being applied to landlords who operate outside of the regulations for the industry.

Illegal steps cost a landlord more in the long-term

It was found that rather than following correct procedures, Simon Knight took several steps that have been deemed illegal to evict his tenant. This included changing the locks on the rental accommodation which meant that the tenant couldn’t access the property. Being unable to access belongings is clearly a problem for tenants but in this instance, the tenant was unable to access important medication. The serious nature of these actions probably led to the punishment that was imposed on the landlord, who was convicted under the Protection from Eviction Act of 1977.

Some of the steps that Knight took to illegally get the tenant to leave the property included:

• Removing the bedroom door from the property
• Removing the bed from the property
• Placing a padlock on the communal bathroom door
• Disconnecting the power supply to the shower in the property

It was also found that to drive the tenant from the property, the landlord refused to carry out repair on the oven, the washing machine, the kitchen extractor fan and the tumble dryer. It was found that these steps would have negatively impacted on the tenant’s quality of life and there were concerns that these measures may have caused the property to become unsafe for habitation. It is this behaviour that makes rogue landlords such an issue.

Severe punishments act as a warning to other rogue landlords

The punishments imposed on Knight included a 12-week jail term, which was been suspended for two years, while the 16-week curfew runs from 8pm to 6am. Knight has also been ordered to pay £2,000 in compensation, £8,490 in costs to the council and the victim surcharge was set at £115.

It can only be hoped that this style of punishment sends a message to rogue landlords and their behaviour in evicting tenants. There are clear rules in place with respect to how a landlord can act in removing a tenant from their property. All landlords in England are advised to familiarise themselves with these rules to ensure that they follow proper procedures when looking to evict a tenant from their property.