[Ben Reeve Lewis wants the punishment to fit the crime...]
You want culture????? Here’s culture and never let it be said that Landlord Law Blog is slack in that area:-
His object all sublime
He will achieve in time —
To let the punishment fit the crime —
The punishment fit the crime;
And make each prisoner pent
Unwillingly represent
A source of innocent merriment!
Of innocent merriment!
The Mikado…Gilbert & Sullivan.
Prostitute #3
When she was 16 my sister joined the local Gilbert & Sullivan Society, singing in the chorus, listed more often than not as “Prostitute #3” being a good 50 years younger than the rest of them and therefore the most credible element of the casting.
I was 6 years younger and helped out with scenery painting and wardrobe, completely clueless as to what ‘Prostitute #3’ might actually mean, announcing proudly to my classmates that my sister was a prostitute. An event she has yet to forgive me for.
Meanwhile Sis continues to sing in Fleet Choral Society and has for many years been a regular at the Albert Hall on poppy day bashing out the High C’s and although I’m no lover of light operetta the words of the song have never left my head, having heard her swaggering her slutty way through the kitchen for weeks getting the phrasing right.
And those words were re-triggered in the most unlikely form this week by reading several threads in housing world.
Civil awards
I read on Nearly Legal a couple of recent prosecutions for harassment and illegal eviction
- £34,209
- £10,901
Yes you guessed it….civil cases. I
Criminal fines
If the council had taken out a criminal prosecution it would likely have been a few hundred quid fine and/or community service.
As reinforced by information over on Landlordzone where it is reported that Carmarthen council prosecuted landlord Kevin Rees, who admitted illegally evicting his tenant, in the magistrates court was penalised to the tune of,
- A £360 fine.
Ouch!…..You beasts, you rotters please don’t punish me!
Carmarthen council Press office released the predictable local authority flag waver trotted out at times like this:-
“This recent prosecution sends out a strong message that we do enforce the law, and hopefully it will encourage landlords to think twice before committing acts of this kind.”
Bullsheeeeeeeet!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m sure Mr Rees will inevitably turn to alcohol to help cope with the shame, embarrassment and fear of any future penalties of a similar kind. £360??? What a joke.
Pointing the finger
Every year councils have to endure a brain numbingly simplistic FOI request from Shelter asking “How many complaints of harassment have you had? v. How many prosecutions have you taken out?”. Derrrrrrrr!!!!!!
Look at the figures above and take a wild guess!!!!!!!!!
@Shelter. Instead of annually stitching up us council enforcement officers – try sending an FOI request to magistrates and ask them how many landlord/tenant issues/poor property condition cases they have dealt with in the past year and what were the penalties they imposed?
Nationally I reckon they would struggle to top an average of 70p each.
When the criminal judiciary start making realistic penalties against these people you will see councils more ready to take action.
Estate Agent Shame
But keeping with the Gilbert & Sullivan theme of the punishment fitting the crime I read with surprise this week of the creation of a ‘Name and shame list’ of employers who pay below the minimum wage and just as quickly unsurprised went on to read that top of the list was an estate agent, ‘Kings Group’ a Former winner of the industry’s ESTAS Award
Kings had underpaid its estate agent staff by £53,808 and it’s lettings arm staff by £26,893. Both hefty sums I’m sure you’ll agree, trouble is, as with criminal courts and illegal eviction the fine levied upon them was a measly £2,500.
His object all sublime
He will achieve in time —
To let the punishment fit the crime —
HMRC got onto their case and they were forced to pay the missing sums to staff, but Kings still justified the practice saying:-
“Kings Group has always paid its sales staff a basic weekly wage plus commission. This structure, which is very common in the estate agency and lettings sectors, has enabled its staff to earn extremely good salaries on an annual basis.”
Former agents however don’t agree if the comments below are anything to go by:
“Reading between the lines, all they have done is spread their commission payments over different 4 week periods. This low basic mentality is the reason I no longer work (and will never work) for a corporate again.”
And:
“I had a corporate agent staff member come to me for a job who said they were paid below the minimum wage but the commission would bump them just over.
When asked what if they didn’t get paid commission, she said they were paid the minimum working wage and if after 6 months that continued their employment was terminated without redress under their contract of employment.
They are also winners of the 2014 ESTAS awards!”
Bear in mind that if they hadn’t been caught out they would have been over £80,000 up on the low payments with nobody any the wiser.
His object all sublime
He will achieve in time —
To let the punishment fit the crime —
But I’m sure that whacking £2,500 fine will make them think twice in future the naughty scamps. Ouch you rotters…..dont punish me!!!!!
What about a nice houseboat?
Moving away from the scumbag end of the market and in the interests of balance in a BBC kind of way lets look at nice landlords. The ever sunny Sam Collett who this week exhorts us how not to buy a houseboat.
She enquired about renting one that was a snip at only £40 a week. Trouble is you couldn’t sleep on it as it wasn’t allowed in the mooring rights.
At one mad time in my life I was seriously considering moving to Amsterdam to live on one but was dissuaded by a mate who had done it who informed me that in winter the canal would freeze over and trap the hull in ice, meaning he spent months wrapped in blankets in front of the wood stove.
So I passed.
What made me smile this week?
I paid £2.99 for an App that gives you 80 classic guitar amplifiers, all modelled into your mobile phone that you can then plug into a sound source and recreate the original hardware. I fell in love with a ‘Dumble amplifier’.
Impressed enough to search out the box itself and purchase it, the cheapest I found was on e-bay @ $55,000…..Ouch you rotters!!!!!!!!
As with the Amsterdam houseboat…I passed.
New recipe:
- Pork fillet medallions – dredge in flour and fry in butter till coloured
- Soak a handful of prunes in sweet white wine
- Deglaze pork pan with the wine – add big spoon of redcurrant jelly till it turns to a glaze.
- Add browned pork slices and prunes and double cream
- Serve with buttery mash……sublime.
See ya Next week.
Well, you asked for it:
“I am the very model of a modern Housing Officer,
I crack down on roguish landlords and unscrupulous profiters,
I expose beds in sheds and tax-dodging with the latest technology
Because I am an expert (which is of course tautology)
I’ve prosecuted Rachmanites and enviro-health crimes oftener,
I am the very model of a modern Housing Officer!”
(Shave and a haircut, two bits.)
There is a recent prosecution for harassment by Oxford CC (not yet in the press) that has resulted in a penalty, following a guilty plea, (that usually results in a lower level of penalty)of £6250 of fine,costs and compensation.
The tenant will presumably, on the back of the successful prosecution make a civil claim as well.
ATRO (Assoc of Tenancy Relations Officers)has been concerned for some time about the significant variance in sentencing – eg in some cases a term of imprisonment and thousands of pounds in comparison the the tiny penalty of £360 at Carmarthen. We are in the process of making representation to the Sentencing Council.
ATRO believes that it is always worth considering a prosecution (despite Carmarthen) to send out the message that depriving a person of their home is a Criminal offence, in addition to a contract matter
Thats good to hear Colin – can you keep us informed?
There is also the point that even though they may only get a minuscule fine, they will still have a criminal record which will justify the Council refusing them an HMO license etc
@Colin & Tessa I have to disagree on many counts.
In my opinion a pointless fine is worse than no prosecution at all. It sends the message that council enforcement is no big deal to worry about.
I once prosecuted a landlord who threatened a woman and three children with a gun. £400 fine and he laughed all the way out of court.
It is continued enforcement action by EHOs, planning, TRO etc resulting in pathetic penalties that bolster landlords of this kind, even encourage them. They push the boundaries but even if caught what they hell?
As for a criminal record. They just add them to the list. We are talking ‘Those’ kinds of people.
Also the vast majority of councils dont have TROs or anyone skilled to do the work. Even my council has just deleted mine and my colleague’s post; effective 30th March. The ubiquitous cuts and we get several illegal eviction each week. What is going to happen to those tenants once we have a generic staffing team doling out housing advice, homelessness casework, maintaining the housing waiting list and dealing with someone who has just been beaten up?
Sorry Colin but ATRO aint gonna help them now.
I’m a working TRO of 25 years and we are becoming dinosaurs, giving the green light to the worst of the worst.
@JS haha You need to get out more!!!!
Sorry but I would also add, that given civil courts take offences much more seriously and damages are awarded to tenants as opposed to fines going to government, wouldnt councils be better served be referring on to solicitors?
Its quicker as well
As I understand it, the following local news report suggests that Mr Rees may have been dealt with rather harshly.
Whilst waiting for the bailiffs to arrive, retired Major Rees, 82, helped to foil an armed robbery in the post office below the flat. By the time he got back from giving a statement at the local police station, the flat was nearly empty and the doors had been left open. He mistakenly believed the bailiffs had already called round and recovered possession. Understandably, he changed the locks.
Full report here;
http://newyddion.sirgar.gov.uk/archif-newyddion/2015/01/prosecution-sends-strong-message-to-landlords/#.VMKlRUesXfg
Mae Cyngor Sir Caerfyrddin wedi rhybuddio y bydd yn cymryd camau cadarn yn erbyn landlordiaid sy’n troi tenantiaid o’u cartref mewn modd anghyfreithlon.
Gwnaed y rhybudd gan is-adran tai y Cyngor yn sgil achos llys yn ddiweddar ynghylch troi tenant o’i gartref yn ardal Llanelli.
Ym mis Rhagfyr plediodd y landlord, sef Kevin Mansel Rees, yn euog o droi ei denant, sef Lee McDonagh, yn anghyfreithlon o fflat uwchlaw Swyddfa Bost Ffwrnes. Dirwywyd Kevin Mansel Rees £360 a bu’n rhaid iddo dalu gordal dioddefwr o £36 ynghyd â chostau o £600. Ar ben hynny mae ganddo bellach hanes o droseddu.
Plediodd y landlord yn euog ond roedd gan Gyngor Sir Caerfyrddin, a oedd yn dwyn yr achos, nifer o dystion oedd yn fodlon rhoi tystiolaeth.
Dywedodd y Cynghorydd Tegwen Devichand, sef yr Aelod o’r Bwrdd Gweithredol dros Dai: “Rydym yn cydweithio’n agos â’r landlordiaid i sicrhau eu bod yn gwbl ymwybodol o ofynion y gyfraith ac o’r safonau rydym yn eu disgwyl ganddyn nhw. Ond pan nad yw landlordiaid yn cydymffurfio â’r gofynion hynny, byddwn yn defnyddio’r holl bwerau sydd gennym i sicrhau bod eu tenantiaid yn cael eu diogelu.
Mae’r achos llys hwn yn ddiweddar yn dangos yn amlwg ddigon i bawb ein bod yn gorfodi’r gyfraith, a’r gobaith yw y bydd hyn yn peri bod landlordiaid yn meddwl eilwaith cyn troseddu fel hyn.”
Admittedly, my Welsh is a bit rusty, so my translation might not be 100% accurate. But it just goes to show, it’s best not to jump to conclusions without knowing the full story.
hahahaha well done you. Reading this at 6am on Saturday morning you had me going for a bit there.
Keen to know more however I dropped it into Google translate and apparently Major Rees has a history of offending, which makes the £360 even more ridiculous.