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An unscrupulous landlord has been banned from letting out properties after repeatedly exploiting vulnerable residents.
Jaydipkumar Rameshchandra Valand, 48, has been handed Brent Council’s first ever banning order, following multiple housing-related offences in the borough.
Valand was one of four landlords found guilty of raking in £360,000 by packing up to 40 tenants into a four-bedroom semi-detached home in Napier Road, Wembley, back in 2018.
Enforcement officers discovered one of the Napier Road tenants living in a lean-to shack made out of pallets and tarpaulin, with no lighting or heating.
Although he was handed a £5,000 confiscation order, Valand exploited more vulnerable tenants.
Last year, in January 2022, he was found guilty of breaching housing regulations at a licensed HMO property in Wembley Hill Road.
He was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £3,347 in costs by Willesden Magistrates Court.
The accused will face jail if he breaches the order issued by Brent Council.
The orders by the Council are the first since it gained powers to ban serial rogue landlords in 2018.
Cllr Muhammed Butt, the leader of Brent Council, said: “This is the first ban we have issued since Brent was given the powers in April 2018 to ban serial rogue landlords under the Housing and Planning Act 2016.”
He added: “If Jaydipkumar Valand breaches his five-year ban, he will face a prison sentence.
“Brent Council takes a zero-tolerance policy against rogue landlords such as this, and we will use everything in our powers to hold them to account to safeguard our vulnerable residents.
“The new selective licensing scheme that we introduced on 1 August is part of our commitment to protecting renters’ rights and securing a decent standard of living for all residents.
“Landlords who rent out properties in Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green are now legally required to have a property licence.”
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