200 hours community work and £7k fines in fraud documents case

A private landlord who provided false documents and endangered the lives of his tenants has been ordered to undertake 200 hours’ unpaid work and pay fines totalling £7,000.

Pervez Akhtar, the landlord of a three storey property in Woking, was required to possess an HMO licence from Woking council. Despite being contacted by the council on a number of occasions, Akhtar did not apply for a licence and instead produced fraudulent tenancy agreements which meant he could avoid licencing the property.

Under the Housing Act 2004, properties require a mandatory HMOs licence if they have three stories or more, five or more tenants forming more than one household, and share kitchen or bathroom facilities.

Akhtar’s property was also poorly managed, and magistrates were told that he put his tenants in danger due to the absence of fire safety precautions in the property which included an inadequate fire alarm system.

Akhtar was found guilty of four offences and sentenced to 200 hours’ unpaid work and fined a total of £7,000. He must also pay the council’s prosecution costs of £762.18 and a victim surcharge of £120.

In February, Akhtar was required to repay almost £7,000 in housing benefit payments after the council successfully applied to the Residential Property Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order, as he had failed to obtain appropriate documentation for the same property.