The Royal Borough of Greenwich has successfully prosecuted Mrs Anna Yang, an Essex based landlord. Mrs Yang provided the tenants of her Charlton apartment with misleading licence agreements which said that tenants were not able to have any Housing Act 1988 protection from immediate eviction.

Despite living in Southend, Mrs Yang continued to use documents which stated the landlord was a resident in the property she rented out.

Following an investigation by the Council’s Trading Standards team, Mrs Yang was fined £2,700 for an offence under regulation 9 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, along with a victim surcharge of £270.

Bexley Magistrates Court gave Mrs Yang full credit for her guilty plea at the first hearing of the case and £2,855.27 was awarded to Royal Borough of Greenwich for taking the case. 

A Council spokesperson said: “It’s so important that rogue landlords such as Mrs Yang are caught and prosecuted for unlawfully profiting and misleading their tenants with false information. We would urge our landlords to ensure that they are delivering good practices for all their tenants. 

The Council’s Trading Standards Enforcement team work hard to identify landlords who are exploiting tenants to ensure that everyone in Royal Greenwich has access to a safe and secure home that meets their needs.” 

Landlords can find information on their rights and responsibilities by visiting royalgreenwich.gov.uk/landlord-advice.  

If you need to report misleading business practices, contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline at royalgreenwich.gov.uk/citizens-advice or call 0808 223 1133. 

All complaints to the consumer helpline are notified or referred to the Council’s Trading Standards team.