Glasgow landlord jailed for sex attacks blocked from renting out homes

A Glasgow landlord who was convicted of sex attacks on two women has been blocked from renting out homes.

Moneeb Ahmad was sentenced to 42 months in prison in March 2024 after he was found guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

A court heard he had crushed drugs into two women’s drinks at his home before attacking them.

Ahmad failed to declare his convictions on his renewal application to be registered as a private landlord. He has now been struck off the register.

Landlords are required to register with their local authority to ensure they are a “fit and proper person” to let property. A council official told the committee that Ahmad rented out one home in the city.

Ahmad asked the committee to delay making a decision on his application as his “mortgage term is due up” next month and, given his “current circumstances”, there is “a realistic proposition that it might not be granted”.

“In which case I would ultimately be required to sell the property anyway,” he said, adding: “I have no dealings with the tenancy because I have handed the property over to a professional letting agency.”

Cllr Alex Wilson, who chairs the licensing committee, said: “You are basically asking us to defer this on the basis that you might not get a mortgage. I think that’s not technically appropriate.

“I think we should be looking at whether we think you’re a fit and proper person. You have been found guilty, you were in prison due to sexual offences, which in itself is very worrying.”

Ahmad suggested he was considering an appeal against his conviction. “In the meantime, I understand entirely why the committee has concerns arising from this conviction and I’m not here to minimise the seriousness of the matter either,” he added.

The landlord asked councillors to consider whether their concerns could be “managed proportionately through safeguards and conditions, rather than removing my ability to retain my properties altogether”.

He said: “I would have no direct contact whatsoever with the tenants, including viewings or inspections. My role, effectively, would become that of a passive owner only, with all operational matters handled externally by qualified professionals.”

Ahmad added the conviction “didn’t arise from or relate to any role as a landlord or any interaction with tenants”. He admitted he had “no excuse” for not declaring his conviction, adding “mentally I wasn’t in a good place at the time”.

The council official said: “I don’t feel that this no contact could be fully observed, what control has a letting agent got over that? I can’t see how that could be imposed to prevent his access to the household.”