Rogue letting agents have been convicted for unfair trading practices including misleading online ads and then failing to refund deposits.
The convictions were against companies operating from premises in Mile End that “targeted vulnerable renters” like students and foreign workers, at the end of a six-month trial from prosecutions by Tower Hamlets Council.
The practices involved issuing “licences to occupy” — instead of legal tenancy agreements — which denied renters their rights against eviction without court orders.
Renters arriving from abroad were left out of pocket, trapped in “a vicious cycle of contracts”, the council said.
Rogue agencies would cease trading under one company name once they received complaints and would set up another to continue, Southwark Crown Court was told.
The same people were involved who mainly operated from the same location in Bow Common Lane.
Mohammed Moynul Haque set up Flintons after complaints against letting agency Citiside Properties Ltd.
He was found guilty of fraudulent trading and breaching consumer protection regulations.
His wife at the time, Fatima Begum, was found guilty of fraudulent trading as the director of Citiside Properties Ltd and managing both Redbricks Estate Agents and Flintons.
Gonzalo Gomez Egea, a manager of two of the businesses, was found guilty of fraudulent trading.
Razaur Rahman Oli and his company, Barrons London Ltd, were convicted of fraudulent practices.
Nozir Ahmed and his company Roomshare Ltd were convicted of two offences.
“We will not tolerate businesses flouting the law,” Tower Hamlets executive mayor Lutfur Rahman warned. “They have responsibilities to ensure properties they rent are accurately advertised.”
The council began receiving complaints about Citiside Properties Ltd in 2017, when Haque then set up Flintons.
Flatsharing Ltd also became central to the prosecution case, the council said.
It generated complaints to Citizens Advice and to online platforms like SpareRoom, which was being used for “switch” advertising showing a different property to one that was being rented out.
Trading standards officers raided the Flintons premises in Bow Common Lane in August 2019 and seized computers.
It stopped trading the following February but analysis from the raid revealed links to other set-up companies.
Some 40 complainants provided written or oral testimony to the trial including videolink from abroad.
SpareRoom gave evidence of complaints it received about misleading advertising and failing to return deposits.
Its communications director Matt Hutchinson said: “The rental market has always had rogue landlords who have become a problem as the housing crisis deepens.
"They take people’s money and rob them of their confidence and their chance to start a new life.”
Some have been banned from the platform for breaking its terms and conditions.
Sentencing takes place on December 5 and 6. Anyone who feels they have fallen victim is being advised to call the Citizens Advice helpline on 0808 223 1133.
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