"Cowboy landlords" burying reputation of HMOs in Portsmouth as letting agency punished for harassing tenants

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) is a hot topic among residents and politicians, with arguments being waged over if they need to be encouraged or curtailed. Portsmouth City Council leader Steve Pitt promised that anyone running unlicensed properties to the ill health of residents will be brought to justice.

This comes after letting agency Elite Rooms Portsmouth LTD - alongside director Shahed Ahmed - being prosecuted at Portsmouth Crown Court for breaching several housing regulations. The court heard on December 10, 2024, that tenants were harassed, with Mr Ahmed, 41, of Jura Close, Cosham, attempting to get occupants evicted.

He was found to have been operating several HMOs unlicensed, including 44 Telephone Road in Southsea, 60 Spenlaw Close in Buckland, 264 Twyford Avenue in Stamshaw, and 24 Adames Road in Fratton.

Councillor Russell Simpson, whose Hilsea ward covers the Stamshaw property, told The News: “While I wouldn’t tarnish all HMO landlords with the same brush, unfortunately there are many cowboy landlords who operate them poorly. This is why HMOs have a bad reputation and good landlords have an uphill battle convincing residents otherwise.

“In this case, the landlord is a multiple offender and shouldn’t be allowed to operate HMOs in Portsmouth. It’s not fair to the tenants or the community. Residents should always report poorly-ran HMOs and I’m sure good landlords would want to know about these issues also.”

The case itself

Portsmouth City Council began an investigation into Mr Ahmed and Elite Rooms Portsmouth LTD, with court hearing that tenants were told by letting agents not to let council officers into the addresses. Officers had to gain search warrants to force themselves into the properties. The director proceeded to harass the tenants and tried to get them evicted without proper process, court heard.

Mr Ahmed admitted in Portsmouth Magistrates Court in October 22, 2024, to committing various offences. This included breaches of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, managing unlicensed HMOs, and failing to comply with HMO management regulations. Court documents seen by The News said several communal areas at 44 Telephone Road suffered from disrepair, damp and mould, with black mould being seen on the ceiling of one ground floor room. The letting agent failed to provide smoke detectors, and did not arrange for rubbish to be cleared from the garden.

At 60 Spenlaw Close, a damaged top floor window was taped up and not repaired properly, with fire escapes continually being obstructed. The kitchen floor at 264 Twyford Avenue was left in poor condition and disrepair. Court documents said the letting agent also failed to fix a leak between the side elevation of the building and the roof, which resulted in water pooling on the floor, while the landlord also failed to protect the health, safety and welfare of the occupants. Court documents said these incidents took place in late 2023 and early 2024.

For the harassment and eviction offences, Mr Ahmed was sentenced on December 10, 2024, to 200 hours of community service and ordered to pay a £114 victim surcharge. The agency was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay more than £9,000 in costs to the council. For failing to licence the properties, the director was personally fined £19,150, and the agency was ordered to pay an additional £5,750.

“Sign of British decline”

Cllr Simpson, of the Portsmouth Independents Party, said extreme examples like this could be the tip of the iceberg. “Residents are always highlighting illegal HMOs with every new HMO application, the residents know there are more than what’s documented,” he added. “I personally believe there are many illegal HMOs operating under the radar without planning or licensing permission.”

Portsmouth City Council said its currently investigating 130 cases where HMOs are being operated without the appropriate licences, with 23 properties being fined after they were established to be non-compliant. They added that in the same timeframe, one landlord and letting agent was fined was prosecuted for operating several unlicensed HMOs.

The News tried visiting each property but got no answer. When readers were asked on social media for their experiences of living in HMOs, one said: “They're a sign of British decline. People having no choice but to rent from some rich landlord and are being charged £800 a month to live in a bedroom.” Another added: “I lived in one for five years and it was awful. I was assaulted by one tenant on four occasions, and I kept having my food and other items such as laundry detergent being stolen.”

One reader described a more positive experience. They said: “I lived in a six-bed all with en-suites, which was super helpful as it was all I could afford at the time and all bills aside from council tax were included. I didn’t really have any issues with the other people. There were a couple maintenance issues as it was newly-converted but they were handled relatively quickly.”

“Stop fanning anti-HMO flames”

Martin Silman, chairman of the Portsmouth and District Private Landlords Association (PDPLA), said letting agents operating HMOs without licences is not a common occurrence. He added that some new rent-to-rent operators, organisations that sign a contract with the landlord and agree to certain rent levels and other conditions to operate them on their behalf, may fall foul of licencing issues due to not having enough experience of managing complex households.

Mr Silman said he estimates there are between three to five rent-to-rent operators in the city who are “rogues” who “stay under the radar and are rarely caught”. “These are the ones who are happy to break rules in order to maximise profits and these are the ones that need to be found and prosecuted,” he added.

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Mr Silman said the majority of rent-to-rent operators are working under the right regulations, and HMOs are getting “unnecessary” bad press, adding they can be crucial in meeting housing targets and needs.

“Portsmouth councillors and staff have realised that fighting HMOs wins votes,” he said. “Portsmouth has the highest standards required of any city in the country and all licensed properties must meet them. The need for HMOs is obvious but the council’s ever increasing tide of regulation just pushes costs up of the good HMOs and makes it harder and harder for those at the bottom of the ladder to find anywhere to live, forcing more people into emergency accommodation.

“Councillors need to stop fanning the anti-HMO flames on social media – if everyone says they are bad, then people believe they are bad. Instead, they need to base decisions on facts and evidence.”

The chairman said PDPLA members do report dishonest rent-to-rent operators when they see them, but “bad actors” can be hard to find. He said the association has reported letting agents in the past, but the council often responded by saying they lacked powers to regulate their behaviour - often fining them without explaining the problems.

He said: “We want our businesses to be successful and to that end, we would like to see rogue operators rooted out – but sadly, too often we see authorities taking the easy option rather than the right one.”

“They will be prosecuted”

Portsmouth City Council leader, Steve Pitt, said the local authority needs to constantly make sure HMOs are appropriately licenced and managed for the benefits of the residents who live in them. He added: “There are limits on the number of HMOs which can be built in the city. Sometimes, people will buy a property and rent it out as a shared house, not realising that it’s covered by legislation. That’s not to say some people are not deliberately flouting the rules, but when we discover that they are, we are constantly vigilant to check up on what’s going on, and we have to take action.”

The local authority has a specific property licencing team which makes sure HMOs are being maintained under the right regulations. “We cannot turn a blind eye to any property which is not being used as it should be,” Cllr Pitt said. “We don’t want people being squashed in and seeing properties without the appropriate communal facilities. When we find people in breach, then we will prosecuted.”

Landlords can apply for a HMO licence on the council website, or contact the licensing team by calling 023 9284 1659 or emailing [email protected]