A letting agent operating in Birmingham, Telford, and Wolverhampton is facing accusations of not returning deposits to more than 100 tenants. Tony Singh, also known as Amun Singh Judge, and his company Morgan, Payne & Knightly (MPK), are also accused by landlords of failing to pass on rent payments.
A BBC investigation indicates that tenants and landlords are collectively out of pocket by hundreds of thousands of pounds. Individual amounts owed reportedly range from £700 to £16,000. County court judgments have been made against both Singh and MPK in some cases, and both have been reported to Trading Standards.
Raman Kaur and her family are still waiting for their £900 deposit after renting through MPK until September 2025, discovering the money was not placed in a registered deposit scheme. Another landlord, Mike Heighway, is owed around £16,000 in unpaid rent from July 2024. Dave, another landlord, reported £32,000 in repair costs and £12,000 in owed rent after his property, managed by MPK, was found to have been used as a cannabis farm.
Former MPK staff members have stated they never saw Singh place tenants' deposits in a regulated scheme. One former worker claimed that hundreds of tenants would never see their deposits again. While there is no mandatory regulation of letting agents in England, agents are legally required to place deposits in regulated schemes.
Sandwell Council confirmed that Singh and MPK are no longer operating in their borough, but the BBC has confirmed they continue to operate elsewhere in the West Midlands. Singh has not responded to attempts by the BBC to contact him.