LONDON: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has written to billionaire Asif Aziz over allegations that his property firm is carrying out “mass evictions” of London residents through the use of soon-to-be banned Section 21 notices at over 600 flats in several parts of London to escape an upcoming law which will favour tenants.
Criterion Capital, a real estate company which also owns the Trocadeo building in Leicester Square, said it was inaccurate to state that hundreds of residents had been served eviction notices but declined to share exactly how many eviction notices had been given.
A Mayor of London spokesperson said Mr Khan is “appalled” at the reports and has written to Criterion Capital asking the company to “urgently explain their actions”as “it is unacceptable to force Londoners out of their homes for no good reason – it leaves residents in an awful position, scared about the future for themselves and their family.”
Through The Aziz Foundation, his family’s charity, the Malawi-born Mr Aziz has collaborated with the Mayor of London every year since 2023 to sponsor the official Ramadan Lights switch on, taking place as recently as 14 February.
In a letter sent directly to Mr Aziz, the mayor wrote: “No such explanation has been forthcoming, and you have failed to provide assurances at all about the security of residents. This has created an increasingly worrying and uncertain situation for tenants, particularly now that further allegations have been put to us about evictions already underway. The right to a good, safe and stable home is fundamental and I am steadfast in my opposition to the use of Section 21 no-fault evictions, let alone their potential use on a mass scale.”
Section 21 notices grant landlords the power to evict tenants from their properties at two months’ notice without needing to give any reason. They will be banned from May under Labour’s flagship Renters’ Rights Act. Housing campaigners fear the notices could be use more frequently ahead of the clampdown.
Housing charity Shelter has called the notices “one of the leading causes of homelessness” because they give tenants little notice to find a new property to rent and often come without warning.
A spokesperson for Criterion Capital said stories about the alleged evictions had been “materially misrepresented and politicised routine and lawful tenancy matters”.
The Aziz Foundation was founded in 2015 and funds grants and internships to support British Muslims. Mr Aziz was previously appointed on the board for Mosaic, a leadership programme set up by King Charles in 2007.
Recently, one of the former senior most Scotland Yard officers Tariq Ghaffur CBE announced he has started a criminal investigation into the multi-billionaire Mayfair landlord over the complaints made by the residents of Fountain House, a posh Mayfair block of apartments on the main Park Lane owned by one of Aziz’s companies – in the neighborhood of Shahrukh Khan and the Sharif family.
Asif Aziz – who calls himself Mr Mayfair and Mr West End – is a multi-billionaire landlord who runs an organization called Aziz Foundation and owns hundreds of high net worth properties in London.
His company that manages Fountain House is called Parkgate Aspen.
Tarique Ghaffur said: “We are conducting a criminal investigation into Fountain House over several matters concerning Asif Aziz and his management company and cohorts. The investigation has risen due to several complaints from leaseholders and information I have subsequently received and reviewed. In our opinion due to the serious concerns regarding matters that have occurred, it merits a criminal investigation. We have started to collect evidence to prove criminal offences and thereafter we shall report our findings to the relevant authorities.”
Asif Aziz’s company got into the current dispute with the residents – who are all rich and millionaires – over the way the residents have been made to pay service charges and a whole range of other complaints. Residents have shown concern at the way the company has failed to provide them with reasonable services.
A source at the London Mayor office added: “This is only tip of the iceberg. The scandal is bigger than what’s known so far. A lot more is coming up.”
