Millionaire's 'squalid' bedsits shut down by Dudley Council

Latif Rehman was ordered to pay more than £340,000 by the courts earlier this month after illegally converting several houses in Dudley into bedsits, ignoring council notices to undo the work.

A judge described 58-year-old Rehman, who earns £150,000 a year from rents, as ‘a significant player’ in the industry, who knew that he was breaching planning regulations.

Now West Midlands Police has secured a closure order against one of Rehman's premises in Wolverhampton Street, Dudley.

Officers moved in following residents' concerns about anti-social behaviour and crime involving tenants of the property.

Dudley Council began investigating Rehman, of Harborne, Birmingham, in 2015 after he converted four homes − including the address in Wolverhampton Road - into cramped bedsits without planning permission.

Enforcement notices were served on Rehman in relation to two adjoining properties in Cole Street, and one in Northfield Road, in Netherton, and a fourth - the house in Wolverhampton Road, Wall Heath. But in each case he ignored the notice and continued to rent them out.

Rehman pocketed a total of £278,000 in tenants’ housing benefits from Dudley Council. The two Cole Street houses had each been turned into five flats and the other two both into six.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that the council had 'bent over backwards' to allow him the time and opportunity to comply with the enforcement notices, giving him extension after extension but instead Rehman used the time to obtain more rent.

He was ordered to pay Dudley Council compensation of £278,028, fined a total of £40,000 and ordered to pay £25,898 prosecution costs.

Today the police revealed that as a result of their investigations into the alleged nuisance behaviour at the property, they have been granted a three-month closure order by Wolverhampton Magistrates Court.

Sergeant Adam Revell, from Dudley neighbourhood team, said: “This is the first time we have pursued an order against such a property in this area.

"We received a number of complaints about nuisance coming from the property, which was in a squalid condition, and built up a strong case of evidence to obtain the order.

“This will hopefully bring some peace to the community and reassure the public we will take steps to prevent anti-social behaviour."