By Ben Reeve Lewis
Some time last year I was interviewed by Guardian Journalist Sirin Kale, who wrote an excellent piece on cannabis farms and dodgy lettings agents, published a couple of weeks back.
Having been in more than one cannabis farm in my career and spending my days dealing with criminal activity in the PRS, I read the experiences of the poor property owners with a professional eye and more than a little interest.
Mr Hajaj, whose property was turned into a cannabis farm, told Sirin that “A sharp-suited British Asian man named Shan Miah arrived in a sports car. He was in his late 20s or early 30s, charming and confident. He boasted of his business interests in Dubai. “He was doing very well for himself,”
And he certainly was doing very well for himself, just not in the way poor Mr Hajaj thought. A sharp suit and a fancy car are a poor basis for making a business decision. Yet one that, sadly, is all too familiar.
When you take out a mortgage, the lending company do extensive checks and demand high levels of proof of income and stability. Yet so often, people place the most expensive thing they own under the control of someone else, without doing similar checks as a mortgage lender.
I often wonder if, in some cases, it’s a sort of British thing. To do with embarrassment and not wanting to cause offence. After all, Shan Miah, the young man in the sharp suit and fancy car (who the article explained was also known as Sean or Roberto) who wrecked Mr Hajaj’s property, was working hard to convey his trustworthiness. It would have been rude to push too much, wouldn’t it? Almost like calling him a liar.
Property owners should be insisting upon extraordinarily high levels of proof of competency and trustworthiness. Professional agents should not only welcome the chance to prove their professionalism and integrity. But also invite rigorous questioning. Whilst I appreciate that young agents learning the business won’t know everything about the legalities the company they represent should be able to answer questions and provide supporting documents.
For a long time, government played with the idea of creating a single standard of competency for letting agents, where qualifications were needed. At one point by all agents and at another point by senior staff in management. But that hasn’t happened.
The industry itself has stepped up. Propertymark is a reliable badge created by an industry concerned about the Shan Miah’s of the world tarring them all with the same brush.
Are major high street names more reliable? Probably yes, but even they aren’t immune. I have on numerous occasions, encountered dodgy operators working within generally honest firms. Including agents running their own internal agency without their employer’s knowledge.
Should I avoid small local independents? I have come across loads of great Indy’s who are more connected with their landlords and tenants than brand names and provide a far more favourable service. However, there are just so many of them these days. And unfortunately, these smaller operations are where the crooks tend to operate. So, a high level of due diligence is needed.
There are 2 mandatory redress schemes for agents to be members of,
And agents can be fined for not being members. The only problem there is that anyone can join, even Shan Miah. There is no competency bar.
Those failing in standards are expelled, but it doesn’t stop them from operating before they get caught out. Also, many crooked operators I encounter say they are in a redress scheme, but when you check, they aren’t.
Tessa asked me to share the checks that my own outfit, Safer Renting, conducts when we are investigating criminal activities and the kinds of things we discover. Hopefully as an object lesson for property owners considering using some form of management agent.
What’s not to like for the property owner not wanting the responsibility of hands-on management? You know the old saying, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is”.
I’m not saying that all guaranteed rent business models are scams…..just that a hell of a lot of them are.
There are big companies who run such models very well, Northwoods and Orchard Shipman spring to mind, but they are large companies with huge cash reserves. They genuinely can guarantee rent if the tenant doesn’t pay.
There may even be insurance products for companies to meet their promise. The question is, “Do they have the necessary reserves to meet the guarantee?” Is that start-up shop in the high street, doing sterling work touting for business and sending the message they are ‘Doing well for themselves’, actually capable of doing what they claim?
Back to Mr Hajaj mentioned above. The article on the agent says, “But in November 2022, the rent didn’t arrive as usual. Imperial said it would evict the tenants,”. Well, what happened to the guaranteed rent there then?
That’s the ever present problem I encounter. When the guarantee is actually needed, it often isn’t there.
Companies House and other similar websites that provide the same information are a vital place to check.
Join the NRLA – This piece of advice may make Ben Beadle fall off his chair, we don’t always see eye to eye but I do think the NRLA do a brilliant job. And I happen to notice that the criminals tend not
to be members. The NRLA hosts regular local events at which you can meet other local landlords and swap gossip and info about local outfits to avoid.
The NRLA are not the only landlord’s association, though. There are many smaller local landlord associations, for example, the North West Landlords Association, and the Eastern Landlords Association. Both have local meetings for their members. There is probably a local association near you – a search on the internet will find it.
To hammer home my original point, don’t, in your eagerness, fall for the charms of the keen, earnest young man in the too-tight Norman Wisdom suit. Do rigorous checks on him and his company.
Make suspicion your default position. He may look like “He is doing well for himself”, but he may also just turn out to actually be Norman Wisdom.
The post Advice for landlords on how to avoid incompetent and criminal letting agents appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.
Here are all our posts for February.
Can this landlord enter her tenant’s property whether she is in or not?
See my reply to this tenant who asked the question via our Blog Clinic. Join in the discussion!
Reporting on the second reading of the Renters Rights Bill in the House of Lords
Read my blog on the highlights of the second reading
Our first Newsround for February
Can we sign a new tenancy agreement with new tenants before the existing tenants have moved out?
This question was asked via my Blog Clinic by a landlord in England
Our weekly look into the housing news
New tenant complains that his property has no heating with issues with the shower and drains
Another question asked via our popular Blog Clinic
Why was should welcome the Renters Rights Bill’s Landlord Redress Scheme
How I believe the new Redress Scheme could help
Another Landlord Law Newsround
Will the new rules for tenants’ notices to quit actually benefit tenants?
I take a look at tenants’ notices to quit in the new regime.
The Renters Right Bill Online Conference Course 2025
Don’t miss out! Book your place now.
Our last Newsround of the month
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The post Landlord Law Blog Roundup for February 2025 appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.
