Rogue East London letting agents who targeted newcomers to the UK found guilty

Rogue letting agents from Tower Hamlets have been prosecuted by the council for targeting newcomers to the UK with unfair practices in the rental market. Five individuals and two companies were convicted of a total of 15 offences of illegal and unfair letting practices that included "bait and switch” advertising of rooms (where rooms are advertised that are actually unavailable in order to sell a similar but more expensive room instead), placing misleading adverts on platforms such as Spareroom, failing to protect or refund tenants’ deposits, and issuing licences to occupy instead of assured shorthold tenancy agreements.

These denied their tenants of any legal rights when renting such as protection from eviction without a court order. They targeted workers or students who were new to the UK and therefore, unfamiliar with the rental market and thus took advantage of them.

The five people convicted were Mohammed Moynul Haque who operated several of the companies that were the vehicles for the fraudulent activity, his then wife Fatima Begum, Gonzalo Gomez Egea, Razaur Rahman Oli and Nozir Ahmed. They all mainly operated from the same location at 220 Bow Common Lane.

READ MORE:Teenager jailed for life after gang stabbed Barnet man, 30, to death in robbery

READ MORE:East London borough 'bans' catcalling with fines of £1,000 issued to people for sexual harassment

Originally known as Citiside Properties Ltd, once the company received complaints they ceased trading under that company and set up a new one with another name so that they could continue their illegal practices. Each company that was set up in a new guise received numerous complaints that went to the council.

The activities of its staff generated a large number of complaints by consumers to Action Fraud and the Citizens Advice Consumer Service. Frequent complaints were made to platform operators, like Spareroom, and to the Property Ombudsman.

Eventually, the council raided the offices of the latest company the traders had made and seized computers in August 2019, two years after complaints started. A trial began in April 2024 and around 40 complainants provided testimony either in writing, orally, or via videolink from overseas.

SpareRoom also gave evidence regarding complaints made to them by users of their site. The complaints were about practices such as misleading advertising and failing to return holding deposits. They also detailed the various efforts they made to address and combat such practices.

Chanapol, an international student and a complainant in the case, said about the outcome: “I know what this means to all witnesses and this result will save many people who might be victims in the future, especially international students (like me), people in their first jobs, or people who try to find a proper place to stay.

"During those times, I suffered from poor mental health because I lost money, and I felt stupid, so that’s why I kept fighting for this even though it took many years to win. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart."

Haque was found guilty of four counts of fraudulent trading and two breaches of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Begum was found guilty of one offence of fraudulent trading and Egea was found guilty of two counts of fraudulent trading.

Oli and his company, Barrons London Ltd, were convicted of fraudulent trading and an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 respectively. Ahmed and his company, Roomshare Ltd, were convicted of two offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Sentencing is due to take place on 5 and 6 December 2024.

Keep up with the latest East London news. Sign up to our MyEastLondon newsletter HERE for daily updates and more.