A buy-to-let investor, once dubbed “country’s worst landlord”, still owes more than £100,000 in unpaid fines in relation to over 60 convictions for housing offences.
Katia Goremsandu, 68, has accumulated £143,709.12 worth of property-related fines, including leaving her tenants without heating or functioning fire alarms, over the past few years, but so far only paid off £40,345.50.
But according to the court, Goremsandu, who is paying off £103,365 of outstanding penalties at the rate of £1,000 a month, will take nine years to pay off the string of fines.
Haringey council estimated in 2014 that Goremsandu’s rental income was around £188,000 a year, including housing benefit payments. But the landlord claimed in court papers last year that her annual rental income was £109,200.
Joe Beswick, head of housing at the New Economics Foundation thinktank, said: “Until we introduce real protections for tenants, and proper means of enforcement, landlords like Goremsandu will continue to operate like this.
“The fact that Goremsandu is able to continue earning huge sums annually despite gross malpractice is a clear example of the imbalance of power in our housing system. Landlords are reaping enormous financial rewards, benefiting from limited regulation and toothless enforcement, while tenants can be evicted without fault with just two months’ notice.”
We're excited to announce that we're working on building a shiny new website for readers of Landlord Today! As part of this process, commenting on articles will be temporarily disabled. We look forward to sharing our new and improved Landlord Today website with you shortly!
(2).jpg)
.png)
(1).png)
.jpg)
%20(002).png)
