Multi-millionaire landlord surrenders large portfolio to crime agency after suspected money laundering

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Landlord Mansoor ‘Manni’ Mahmood Hussain has lost his vast property portfolio after a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into his alleged links with organised crime.

The Leeds businessman agreed to hand over 45 properties in London, Cheshire and Leeds, four parcels of land, as well as other assets and more than £500,000 in cash, with a combined value of nearly £10 million.

The agency secured an unexplained wealth order against eight properties owned by 40-year-old property magnate Hussain, formerly of Sandmoor Drive in Leeds – the first one obtained solely on someone’s alleged involvement in serious organised crime.

It got a freezing order preventing the sale or transfer of the original eight properties, plus a further nine that were identified after the NCA argued Hussain had failed to fully comply with the requirements of the order – and his non-compliance provided a good case that a number of the properties were funded by criminal associates.

Hussain, who has links to a murderer jailed for 26 years, an armed robber and a convicted fraudster who acted as his accountant, used threats of violence and blackmail to buy his properties, the NCA claims.

Armed robbers

Hussain’s association with criminals included allowing convicted armed robber Dennis Slade to stay rent free in his seven-bedroom house in Sandmoor Drive. Following Slade’s release from prison, he stayed rent free in Hussain’s penthouse apartment in Leeds city centre.

Andy Lewis, head of civil recovery at the NCA, says: “Mansoor Hussain thought he had hidden the criminality associated with the source of his property empire, but he didn’t count on our tenacity. Far from taking his UWO response at face value, we studied what he had and hadn’t divulged. We could then use that information to look far enough back to uncover the hidden skeletons in his financial closet.”

Visit the National Crime Agency

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Gloom to boom? Buy-to-let mortgage brokers report improving landlord confidence

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Brokers are confident of seeing a buy-to-let bounce-back in the next 12 months – a big mood swing from this time last year, the UK’s largest lender has revealed.

Just under half of mortgage intermediaries (49%) expect to write more buy-to-let business in the next 12 months, up from 41% in June, according to Paragon Bank’s quarterly survey.

This is in stark contrast to the same period a year ago when only 17.5% expected to do more business over the coming year.

When asked to describe demand for buy-to-let mortgages, 48% of brokers say it’s ‘strong’ or ‘very strong’, which is up from 26% in June and another big change from the same time last year, when only 5.5% of brokers felt the same way.

While the provider of buy-to-let mortgages’ Financial Adviser Confidence Tracker Index found brokers were positive about the Government’s initiatives to kick-start the economy, particularly the temporary cut in stamp duty, some expect to see a dip in mortgage activity following the end of the scheme next March. 

MD Richard Rowntree (left) says the market is strong at the moment and looks set to continue to perform well over the coming months.

But he adds: “History has shown that we can see peaks and troughs in activity in the lead up to and following important policy changes and these are just indicative of the dynamic nature of the market. I feel that demand will ease off to more typical levels, so when we look at it over a longer term, we will see a return to stability.”

Find out more about landlord mortgages.

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Case law: Goldsborough v CA Property shows up some dangers with rent-to-rent…

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The practice of sub-letting a residential rental property to another landlord, a property management company or a local authority, (sometimes referred to as rent-to-rent) is an arrangement that many property owners have found an attractive prospect.

There are advantages in this for both parties: the property owner gets a guaranteed rent for the three or five years’ contract, and the property is guaranteed to be returned in good condition, all signed by the middle manager (we will call him or her the landlord) on a legally binding contract.

For the manager, they get to rent out the property as if they owned it and collect a full market rent from the tenants, paying the owner a lower sum, pocketing the difference. If the middle man divides the house and lets by the room, the arrangement can be extremely lucrative.

That’s certainly the story touted by the so called property “gurus” who run their courses advising novice would-be landlords how they can get started in property with no money – “become a property millionaire and give up your rat-race day job”, is often their line. But remember, the reason why “guru” has become so popular is simply because charlatan is hard to spell!

This is an area that’s fraught with problems and difficulties. For some extreme examples take a look at Paul Shamplina’s new series, “Extreme Nightmare Tenants”, Thursday nights on Channel 5 TV.

These so call middle men – unless you are dealing with a reputable company or local authority, and even then you need to look out – are often less than reliable. They will wreck homes by dividing them for multi-occupation, they will operate them without HMO licences, they will fail to pass on any rent and they will return the property, if you are lucky, in a run-down state.

Something like this occurred in the Goldsbrough & Anor v CA Property Management Ltd case at The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) (2019).

Recent legislation has introduced something call a Rent Repayment Order (RRO), where a court, or in this case a tribunal, can order a landlord to re-pay rent in compensation to a tenant where the landlord was letting the property illegally, in this case without the requisite licence.

The question before the tribunal was – as two of the tenants had filed a RRO, because they discovered the absence of an HMO licence – who re-pays the rent? Is it the head landlord (the owner) or is it the sub-letter middle man, the management company “under” landlord? No licence meant the two tenants were entitled under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to full repayment of their rent during the unlicensed period.

You would naturally assume here that the owners were well and truly out of it because they have sub-let to a management company that had taken on full responsibility; not our problem would be the owners – Mr and Mrs Gardiner’s – response.

Well, you probably guessed what’s coming: no said the tribunal! Despite finding that the management company was in fact the landlord, the tribunal was faced with a challenge from the two tenants. They argued that the company was acting merely as agent, and that the owners of the property were in fact liable.

Quite surprisingly the tribunal agreed with the tenants and held that the owners of the property were liable to re-pay the full compensation. The Housing and Planning Act 2016 states that a RRO can be made against “a landlord” but it does not specify that it must be a “direct” landlord, concluded the tribunal.

Whether this is the final word on the matter is open to question, should there be an appeal. But for now the principle stands: a court or tribunal could go for one or the other or both landlords to re-pay. A lot would perhaps depend on the solvency of the parties involved.

There are some important lessons from all of this:

1. Great care is needed when entering into a rent-to-rent arrangement unless, you are certain the under landlord (property manager) is reputable.
2. Legally the arrangement is complex and requires a water-tight commercial contract – an AST simply will not do.
3. Owners should seek legal advice before signing any sub-letting agreement.
4. Make sure the property is properly licensed and meets all the regulatory requirements for the intended use.

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Welsh Tenancy Saver Loan scheme paid directly to Landlords or Agents!

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A new £8 million Welsh Government Tenancy Saver Loan scheme to help tenants struggling with rent arrears due to coronavirus has launched by Minister for Housing and Local Government Julie James.

First of its kind in the UK

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Landlords warned: come clean about Airbnb income or face fines

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Airbnb hosts and landlords should make sure their tax affairs are ship-shape to avoid any potential fines, warns a leading accountancy firm.

It follows the lettings platform’s decision to share details about its hosts’ income from 2017/18 and 2018/19 with HMRC, which Grunberg & Co says could lead to a rise in investigations.

Airbnb has faced pressure worldwide to check that its hosts pay the appropriate taxes and partner Alexander Kossoff is encouraging those in the UK to consider making a disclosure and payment to HMRC for any outstanding tax.

£3,000 a year

According to Airbnb, the average annual earnings for a typical host are just over £3,000 but Kossoff (pictured, below) explains that those hosts who rent out a second or third home, rather than part of their main home, can’t benefit from the Rent-a-Room relief allowance of £7,500.

He says: “In many cases no tax may be due, but that where it is, a voluntary disclosure to HMRC could help to reduce any potential fines from the tax authority.”

Anyone who has left out some or all of their residential property income for earlier tax years should consider disclosing information under HMRC’s Let Property Campaign or where property is located overseas, via the Worldwide Disclosure Facility, he advises.

“In some cases, where they act quickly enough, they may only be required to pay the outstanding tax amount.”

HMRC recently hit Airbnb UK with an extra £1.8 million tax bill last year to add to the £1m it had already paid.

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BREAKING: Welsh rent arrears loan scheme opens for applications

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The Welsh government has opened its Tenancy Saver Loan scheme to applications.

Announced in August, it offers loans to tenants who have built up rent arrears or those who believe they will struggle to pay their rent in the coming months, and is the first of its kind in the UK.

It will run until March 31^st 2021 and is backed by a fighting fund of £8 million, paying funds approved by the scheme directly to landlords or lettings agents.

The loans will be repayable over a five-year period and charge tenants an interest rate of 1% APR, and come with support and advice services ‘to help them manage their financial situation’.

Managed by Wales Council for Voluntary Action, they will be provided by seven credit unions across Wales. These will initially work with tenants to find out whether they’re eligible for the loan scheme and how much they could afford to repay, and if suitable offer them support.

Constant pressure

“We recognise the constant pressure that the coronavirus is putting on tenants and landlords,” says Minister for Housing and Local Government, Julie James (main pic, above).

“That’s why we’re supporting a low interest loan scheme that provides financial assistance for both tenants and their landlords.”
Ann Francis of Cambrian Credit Union, which is covering the majority of counties in Wales, says: “We would stress that this is a loan scheme of last resort and not a grant, so it may be that not every applicant will receive a loan.”

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle (left), adds: “These loans will help keep tenants who have been affected by coronavirus in their homes, while supporting landlords reliant on rental income to pay their own bills.

“We would advise every landlord with a tenant in arrears to make sure they are aware of the new scheme and advise any landlord in receipt of these payments to commit to working with their tenant to maintain the tenancy in the long term.”

Read how tenants can apply for a loan.
Get more advice how to stop tenants getting behind with their rent.

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House prices up by more annually than savings on Stamp Duty holiday

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The September Halifax House Price index has just been released showing annual growth of 7.3%, quarterly growth of 3.3% and a monthly increase of 1.6%. The new average house price now stands at £249,870.

The key question is how long will pent-up demand from the lockdown and the Stamp Duty holiday incentive continue to outstrip the supply side and drive house prices?

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‘Permitted Occupier’ status – new AST needed?

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Short scenario – Tenant is asking for a partner to move in. I won’t offer a joint tenancy as the incoming person has not been in a job long enough to warrant this (still in 6 month probation period) and even then she won’t be able to afford the full rent herself.

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