A letting agency will have to pay over £100,000 after subjecting tenants to “abhorrent and vile” harassment.

SB Lets pleaded guilty to three separate offences after it was found that they launched vexatious court proceedings against tenants and subjected them to threatening emails and phone calls.

Shadi Baja, the sole director of SB Lets, and his company were fined a total of £119,000 and is expected to step back from day-to-day operations of the agency.

Gill Williams, chair of the housing committee at Brighton and Hove City Council, who led the prosecution, said: “This is an appalling case of unacceptable behaviour towards tenants in their own homes.

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"The council led this prosecution as part of our role supporting any tenants treated unfairly. We are determined to take action to protect our residents from such abhorrent harassment.

“There are many decent private sector landlords in the city, but we often hear from residents about their poor experiences and know the quality of management and maintenance is inconsistent.

“We’re happy that the sentencing reflects the severity of the case. It sends out a strong message that we will not tolerate landlords and letting agents acting unlawfully.”

The council added that tenants had complained of SB Lets cutting off or reducing utilities, entering tenants’ homes without notice or permission and behaving in an intimidating manner.

SB Lets was fined £20,000 for each of the three offences at a hearing at Lewes Crown Court on October 9 and ordered to pay £8,000 to each of the victims.

Housing union Acorn welcomed the ruling of the court, adding: “We have dealt with a number of cases on behalf of our members against SB Lets, so we are not surprised that the court came to this ruling. We congratulate those tenants and ACORN members who have stood up to SB Lets, as well as the hard work of Cllr Williams on this case.

“However, there is much more to be done. Brighton Council have an appalling record on prosecuting landlords, with only three prosecutions attempted in the past 10 years, and have still not enacted their 'zero tolerance' policy on landlords who break the law, which was voted on by full council in 2021.

“We urge everyone to take part in the council’s new Landlord Licensing consultation, as this will shape the future of rental property in the city and help protect renters from further exploitation.”

If you believe that you have suffered from landlord harassment or been treated unfairly by your landlord, contact the council's Private Sector Housing team for advice at psh@brighton-hove.gov.uk