A businessman has been stripped of his OBE by the King after he was found to have operated as a rogue landlord in west London for two decades.
Nirpaul Riat, who operated in Hounslow, had his honour removed after it was found he had been renting out substandard properties over a 20-year period. He was fined £300,000 in 2023 after it was found he had illegally converted houses into flats and rented out outbuildings to vulnerable people.
Many of his tenants were left living in damp, squalid rooms with limited natural light, a lack of hot water, heating which only worked irregularly, as well as leaks and a mould problem.
In 2011, Mr Riat was awarded the OBE for “services to Charity and to the Punjabi People.” However, according to the Cabinet Office, his conduct had “brought the honours system into disrepute.”
Councillor Tom Bruce, deputy leader of Hounslow Council, welcomed the decision. “I am pleased to learn that Nirpaul Riat has been stripped of his OBE,” he said. “Ensuring the best possible quality of life for our residents is an absolute priority, and rogue landlords who exploit vulnerable tenants have no place in our borough.”
A rare sanction
Stripping someone of an honour is rare and is reserved for cases where the recipient’s conduct is judged to have damaged the reputation of the honours system — including criminal convictions, serious professional misconduct and, as in this case, exploitation found by the courts.
The £300,000 fine in 2023 was one of the largest imposed on a rogue landlord in the capital. Hounslow Council said the case sent a message that landlords who cut corners on tenant safety will face the full weight of the law.
Read more about housing enforcement in the capital in our crime coverage and the row over affordable homes in Lewisham.
