A surveyor who pleaded guilty to faking tenancy agreements has been punished in court while his professional reputation is described as being in ruins.
Michael Durham, an RICS surveyor with over 30 years’ experience, acted as planning agent for landlord Martin Hetherton.
The pair tried to deceive both the local authority – Brent Council in London – and the planning inspectorate by submitting forged tenancy agreements in support of a planning application.
The pair have now been fined thousands of pounds by Willesden Magistrates Court.
Hetherton and Durham had tried to seek planning permission for a studio flat in Brent.
They submitted fake tenancy agreements to cover the years 2008, 2009 and 2011 to try and trick the planning authorities into believing that the studio had been in use for over four years and was therefore lawful.
It was discovered that the tenancy agreements were fake because they were created on ‘Law Pack Forms’ which were not actually published until 2012, meaning that none of the agreements could have been signed in the earlier years.
In court both Durham and Hetherton pleaded guilty to the charges and were each fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,286.
The court heard how this conviction meant Durham would no longer be able to continue working as a surveyor and that he had already resigned from the professional group that regulates surveyors.
Cllr Margaret McLennan, lead member for regeneration and housing at Brent Council – which describes Durham as a “dodgy agent” in its press release – said: “Professional misconduct such as this is unacceptable.
“Planning rules are in place for a reason and those who ignore them run the risk of not just receiving hefty fines but of having their professional reputations ruined too.
It is understood that Durham heads up his company, which appears to say online that it has over 30 years of experience and offers honest service.
The Brent Council press release is here
Comments (6)
Shouldn’t the article read Former RICS surveyor. Have RICS allowed him to continue to carry their logo??
Trevor, Well spotted. He is no longer a member of the RICS. Had he not resigned he would have been expelled so he cannot use the RICS logo. Every organisation has bad apples that need routing out.
Will – you say “Every organisation has bad apples that need routing out.” That is without a shadow of doubt bang on the money – no truer sentence spoken or typed.
The problem, unfortunately, is the claims of those organisations refuse to accept the validity of that sentence.
Taken from RICS website – “RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards – bringing confidence to the markets we serve… We are proud of our reputation and we guard it fiercely, so clients who work with an RICS registered professional can have confidence in the quality and ethics of the services they receive.”
That reads “NO BAD APPLES” to me…
“…an RICS surveyor with over 30 years’ experience…”
THANK GOODNESS for the industry bodies regulating their Members and keeping professional standards above reproach, I say.
Erm… oh. Not this time, apparently. Or in the cases of the others we have read about here on EYE and ‘other’ publications.
Okay… usually they do, that is… Mostly. Ish.
Another Rummage, try a site specific search for http://www.rics.org... ‘Disciplinary panel’ I am wondering whether to stick that down in the entertainment section Talk about dirty laundry!
Dodgy agent? It comes to something when being called a dodgy agent is a bit of a let off. Seriously how thick do you have to be?
With apparent clear evidence of a tenancy agreements going back to 2008 HMRC should also now be chasing them for the undeclared income and the appropriate fines for tax evasion.