Local authorities and the police are starting to get tough against bad landlords. In Manchester an ASBO was made against landlord Mansha Shaheen in November 2005 preventing him from using or threatening violence against his tenants. Reported in the local press.
A similar order was made against a large private landlord, Steven Dickens, in Conwy, Wales in January. Interestingly this order not only prohibits him from using abusive behaviour against his tenants and withdrawing services, but also from approaching Conwy County Borough housing staff without an appointment. Apparently he made threats against staff when asked by them to effect repairs to his properties. He sounds like a nice man – he subsequently breached the ASBO order and has had his passport confiscated pending a criminal prosecution for mortgage fraud. Read all about it here.
Steven Dickens, the notorious landlord from North Wales, was sentenced to two months in prison on 22nd March for breach of his ASBO less than two weeks after the full ASBO was granted. Despite granting the young mother a tenancy, taking a deposit and giving her the keys, Dickens locked her out of the flat before she even had the opporurtunity of moving her furniture in. Read about it here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/4835296.stm
Thanks for that. Here is the link again:
here.