Govanhill landlords unfit to rent

Extra resources from partner agencies are being diverted to help deal with many anti-social problems in Govanhill.

Following a series of decisions at a meeting of Glasgow City Council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee, all nine landlords now face criminal prosecution and fines of up to £50,000 if they attempt to let their property.

Eight of these landlords own property within the Govanhill’s first Enhanced Enforcement Area (EEA), which has allowed council officers to impose higher standards of regulation on all landlords operating within a four block area of south-west Govanhill.

The eight landlords with property within the EEA all failed to provide a range of certification that includes an enhanced criminal record check, buildings insurances, energy performance, gas safety and confirmation that tenants received tenant information packs. There were also concerns about the condition of two of the properties.

The ninth landlord, whose Govanhill property is out-with the EEA, had his name removed from the register as premises failed to meet the tolerable standard expected for rented homes. The property had previously been the subject of a closure order due to failings that included faulty electrics, no hot water as well a broken toilet and holes in ceilings and the floor.

All decisions followed submissions to the Licensing and Regulatory Committee by the council’s Private Landlord Registration Unit, which has the responsibility for maintaining the landlord register for the Glasgow City area.

The eight landlords who failed to meet the standards of the Enhanced Enforcement Area are Lawrence Reilly, Usman Ul Haq, Abid Mahmood, ISRA Investments, Abdul Ali, Shazia Akhtar, Abdul Shakoor and Furrukh Saleem. All had properties within ‘four blocks’ of tenement flats bordered by Calder Street, Westmoreland St, Dixon Avenue and Annette Street.

The ninth Govanhill landlord barred from the Landlord Register was Mohammed Usman, who owns a property of below tolerable standard on Langside Road.

The Licensing and Regulatory Committee also refused an application from Mark Shields to be registered as a landlord for his property in Celtic Street, Maryhill on the basis of his criminal conviction.