Sep

Portfolio landlord banned from operating rental properties after sleaze conviction

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A landlord in Glasgow convicted of stalking a woman has been struck from the landlord register, preventing him from letting out his 14 properties.

Joga Singh, 48, was found guilty last year of repeatedly approaching the woman in Paisley Town Centre, following her and asking for money in return for permission to take photographs of her wearing underwear.

He was sentenced to a community pay back order of 252 hours and placed on a non-harassment order for one year.

Proving the effectiveness of landlord registration – something that’s already in place in Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as Scotland, with proposals to introduce it in England – Singh appeared before Glasgow City Council’s licensing committee this week.

His representative Archie MacIver told councillors that he had been a landlord for 21 years, dealing with many hundreds of tenants without issue.

“His moment of madness has brought a fairly good life crashing to a halt. He is a married man with three children, but the family is separated as a result, said MacIver.

Ashamed and remorseful

“He is utterly ashamed and remorseful. There is no running away from the fact that what happened here was extremely serious, distasteful and worrying.”

The committee heard that he had been refused an HMO licence last year. All Singh’s properties are managed by letting agents which means he doesn’t need to be in contact with his tenants and has told them about his conviction. However, the committee agreed to remove him from the landlord’s register.

The register lets anyone looking for information on landlord or property registrations for all private rented property in Scotland, and includes contact details of owners and agents, and information on enforcement orders. Landlords must be registered or face a fine of up to £50,000 and a ban on letting properties of up to five years.

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