Hajaj Hajaj was 79 when he rented out his house in south London, so his daughter, Kinda Jackson, urged him to use a reputable lettings agent for peace of mind. He hired a company called Imperial after being impressed by the professionalism of the agent, Shan Miah.

But, Kinda tells Helen Pidd, her father became seriously ill with Covid and almost died, and when he came out of hospital it was to find his wife had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, meaning he suddenly needed to pay for her care. He then discovered that during this time the rent for his property had suddenly stopped.

The family made phone call after phone call to Imperial asking for his rent. Finally, Hajaj’s son went to the property, to find a steel door had been put on it. He could hear fans whirring – their father’s rented-out home had been turned into a cannabis farm. ‘Every single room in that house had been destroyed with cannabis plants venting,’ says Kinda, ‘and we also found a man living in a very small room in the loft of the property.’

The police arrested the man but did not investigate further. So Kinda got in touch with Guardian feature writer Sirin Kale, who soon discovered that Imperial was not a legitimate company and had destroyed the properties of many other landlords.

But who was behind it – and how widespread is this kind of scam?