A SLUM landlord exposed by the Evening Times has become one of the first people in Scotland to be banned from renting out property.

A SLUM landlord exposed by the Evening Times has become one of the first people in Scotland to be banned from renting out property.

Mohammed Aslam was the subject of a string of complaints over dozens of rundown properties he rented, many in the Govanhill area in the South Side of Glasgow.

And today locals were celebrating as the man with the reputation for being among the worst owners in the area was told he was out of business.

Glasgow City Council is among the first to fully exploit powers under anti-social behaviour legislation, barring an applicant from the Private Landlords' Register.

Anyone who is not registered cannot legally operate as a commercial landlord.

And that means, barring any appeal against the decision, Mr Aslam is no longer able to rent out his dozens of properties for profit.

He now faces the choice of selling up or sitting on a property portfolio that can't offer him an income.

The city council's homeless unit is prepared to support any family who has difficulty finding another home. Many are large Roma families.

Council leader Steven Purcell, who recently visited the slums in the area with local Labour councillor Anne Marie Miller and MP Mohammad Sarwar, said: "This demonstrates our commitment to tackling rogue landlords.

"Substantial evidence has been collected against this landlord and I welcome the decision to refuse him a place on the landlords' register.

"Landlords who fail to fulfil their responsibilities to their tenants, their property and the wider community must know that their behaviour will not be tolerated and this council will take action."

The decision follows repeated calls by the Evening Times to stop landlords like Mr Aslam and months of painstaking work which began with an investigation into one of the landlord's properties in Allison Street, Govanhill.

The top floor flat - which housed four adults and seven children - was infested with cockroaches, and there was a cooker next to the toilet.

Floorboards were riddled with holes and electrical junction boxes with exposed wires dangled from the walls, leading the council to issue a closure order, shutting down the flat.

The full council dossier behind the ban on Mr Aslam includes:

• The closure of the Allison Street slum.

• Two improvement notices and two prohibition notices served on gas appliances in his properties.

• Council tax debts, believed to run to tens of thousands of pounds.

• A criminal record.

• Seven "abatement notices" under environmental protection legislation against dumping or other anti-social behaviour.

This morning Mr Aslam refused to discuss the damning criticism of him. Instead he claimed: "These Slovakian people. They are the ones doing all the damage."

He said he had raised legal action against the council for using new immigrants from Eastern Europe to drive down property prices.

And he refused to discuss his criminal record, saying: "What does that have to do with it?"

The rogue landlord accused the council of "victimisation and discrimination", saying it had a "personal prejudice" against him.

And he said: "You guys do what you're going to do. You have made up your minds to bring me down."

Mr Aslam, who has 21 days to appeal against the decision, said he was going to consult his lawyers over the ruling which would drive him out of business.

Earlier, Mr Aslam surprised local community leaders when he signed a petition organised by Crosshill-Govanhill Community Council calling for action against slum landlords.

But when the Evening Times challenged him over the state of homes he rents out, he angrily defended himself, saying he had worked hard all of his life and promising repairs would come - eventually - when his army of part-time tradesmen were not too busy with work elsewhere.

Green councillor Danny Alderslowe, who has campaigned against slum housing in Govanhill, welcomed the ban, saying: "This is fantastic news for the community.

"It's a warning to landlords what will happen if they fail to maintain properties to a decent standard.

"No doubt this will cause some commercial pain to some people operating in our area. But that is nothing compared to what they have put families through."

If Mr Aslam's appeal is unsuccessful, he will have to notify tenants that their leases are being terminated and he will have to adhere to all laws protecting their rights to notice and fair treatment until they leave.

If he refuses to stop acting as a landlord, the council will be able to serve rent penalty notices, cutting off all housing benefit for 22 of his 39 known properties. It is an offence for a landlord to continue working when refused entry to the register and they would face a £5000 fine.

Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell urged other councils to follow Glasgow's example.

He said: "Landlord registration gives councils a powerful tool to drive up standards in the sector and we would encourage all councils to use the full range of powers to tackle the minority of landlords who give the sector a bad reputation. I want to ensure the scheme is properly enforced. This will send a clear message to landlords who continue to operate unlawfully and exploit tenants that their practice is not acceptable.

"However, it is not appropriate to comment on individual cases or the decision Glasgow City Council has taken in relation to this landlord."