‘I was afraid of him’: renting from one of London’s worst landlords

Couple who were tenants of Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasool offer cautionary tale of how rogue landlords can leave trail of misery

• Confiscate properties from rogue landlords, says MP

The paw prints on the bed and cat faeces on the floor were bad signs, but Jess Pope, 27, and Nathan Francis, 31, had little choice as they hunted for their first home together. The landlord of the warren of bedsits in Camden accepted people on benefits and the £950 monthly rent was cheap for London. The couple suppressed their fears and, in September 2020, they moved in.

They were becoming tenants of Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasool, who, little did they know, was on the way to being known as one of the capital’s worst landlords.