A rogue landlord has failed to have his £26,486 fine for letting two unlicensed HMOs overturned after a tribunal heard he produced false documents and questioned tenants’ honesty.

Ndumbe Achile Ndumbe claimed the properties in Castle Grove and Hope Street, Leigh, were occupied by fewer than five people and didn’t need a licence, however, inspections by Wigan Council’s housing standards team proved this wasn’t the case.

A First Tier Property Tribunal judge said the landlord intentionally or recklessly disregarded the law and did not exercise reasonable care in regard to his legal obligations or make sufficient efforts to comply with these obligations. The council had also offered advice and given him verbal and written warnings about needing a licence.

Argument

The tribunal rejected his argument that he did not have control of the bank account which rent was paid into, along with the suggestion that someone else sent emails to the council in his name about tenants.

Although the landlord did not dispute there were five people living at the Hope Street property, he said two of them should not have been there.

Several

The judge said Ndumbe was an experienced landlord who had several properties in his portfolio. “This is an important consideration because he should have known his responsibility as a landlord to ensure that the properties needed to be licensed as HMOs. He compounded matters by producing false documents and calling into question the honesty of the occupiers who provided witness statements.”

Ndumbe appealed against the two fines of £14,243 and £12,243, suggesting that he was suffering from mental health problems and asthma. The judge added: “The only medical evidence produced relates to an asthma attack in May 2025 which led to the postponement of the hearing.”

Councillor Kevin Anderson, cabinet portfolio holder for police, crime and civil contingencies, says: “Our teams are proactive in tackling that minority of rogue landlords, and this case demonstrates that we can and will take action against people operating substandard housing in our borough.”

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