Landlord who crammed 40 people into house is banned...

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17 August 2023

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By Graham Norwood

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Landlord who crammed 40 people into house is banned

A criminal businessman has been given a London council’s first ever landlord banning order.

Property dealer Jaydipkumar Rameshchandra Valand, who lives in Wembley, has been banned from letting out houses in England and engaging in any sort of property management work in the country for the next five years.

A judge issued the ban after the council proved that Valand had been responsible for multiple housing-related offences in Brent.

He was one of four slum landlords found guilty of raking in £360,000 by packing up to 40 tenants into a four-bed semi-detached home in Wembley back in 2018. Enforcement officers discovered one of the tenants living in a lean-to shack made out of pallets and tarpaulin with no lighting or heating.

Although he received a £5,000 confiscation order, Valand went on to exploit more vulnerable tenants.

In January 2022 he was found guilty of breaching housing regulations at a licensed HMO property, again in Wembley.

Enforcement officers discovered fire safety violations, accumulating waste, disrepairs and unhygienic conditions under Valand’s management while he pocketed £1,400 a month from tenants living in unsafe conditions without tenancy agreements. He was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £3,347 in costs by Willesden Magistrates Court.

Valand also declared that he didn’t own a business in the UK, but Brent council demonstrated in court that this was a lie. He was ordered to pay in fines and costs £6,190 for this lie.

Councillor Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent council, says: “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. 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 August 1 is part of our commitment to protecting renters’ rights and securing a decent standard of living for all residents.”

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