Black Country king of the bedsits tells of his rise to the top

He owns more than 150 properties housing 800 tenants all within a 10-minute drive of his empire's base in Wednesbury.

And he's snapping up another property every month.

"I like them cheap," he says earnestly.

"I buy the rundown, derelict, properties that no-one wants."

He then converts them into five or six-bedroom homes known as Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO). The individual shoebox-sized rooms are then rented out from £65 a week, including most bills.

It's a formula that can bring an income of £20,000 a year per property for his J9 Accommodation business.

It is a remarkable rise for a man who grew up in care in Edinburgh. "I was in a kids home," he says nonchalantly. "I know what it's like to be homeless."

Since first letting rooms to students in 1991, the former Sandwell College law lecturer now commands a staff of 30 – including his own maintenance team.

Despite his multi-million pound wealth, the 62-year-old rejects a life of opulence – driving a tired Volvo and living modestly in Wednesbury with his partner and three young children.

"I reinvest," he says. "I was brought up in Scotland and had a Presbyterian upbringing, it doesn't allow me to squander money. No holidays, no jewellery."

He is straight-talking, to the point and you can sense a ruthlessness in his voice which conveniently sees him fit the landlord stereotype. But he claims life as the king of bedsits is a million miles away from the world of notorious London landlord Peter Rachman, even saying he is the one who is victimised.

"Private landlords are perceived as being bad and evil but they are more sinned against than the sinner," he says, offended.

"We provide good, cost-effective housing, making available properties that were previously uninhabitable. And we do this at a fraction of the cost of the social housing sector. I have never evicted a tenant who could not pay the rent.

"We look after our tenants. We send them birthday and Christmas cards and every year I put on a Christmas party at my own expense. After all, I don't force them to live there. And he dismisses accusations that 'greedy' landlords like him are hoovering up homes which would otherwise be bought first-time buyers.

"I buy properties that they would not buy," he snaps. "First-time buyers want a garden, a nice drive, and something that looks nice. I don't care about the outside; I am interested in the interiors. The people I house are after a room so it's a shame to spoil a good 'un.

"Shared housing is a bit of a myth. The tenants live separate existences. It is not like Friends. They rent on a weekly basis with just a week's notice. It is halfway between a house and a hotel – but far cheaper. Our rents have been frozen for eight years."

Since buying his first HMO in 1991 for £35,000, he has seen a huge shift in his clientele. "When I started I did not want to take tenants who were out of work," he said. "Then the economic downturn came and they started losing their jobs.

"I went from having six per cent of my tenants being unemployed in July 2008 to nearly 60 per cent by November.

"That is how I could see the recession hit the Midlands. It hit us like a hammer blow."

Now 70 per cent of Mr Haliburton's tenants are on housing benefit – formerly known as DSS (Department of Social Security). And he is condemning of the system which pays the benefit directly to the tenants. "DSS is a system that makes sure landlords do not get paid.

Eighty per cent of DSS tenants will keep it for themselves.

"I think the housing departments take joy in seeing the tenants squander it. It is like feeding strawberries to a donkey – it's a complete waste."

After attending a secondary modern school he went on to university in Coventry and Manchester. He started to train as a solicitor when he found that teaching was his calling.

Then, while renting a house to students he discovered that by renting out individual rooms it would generate between three and five times more income as opposed to letting the house out on a single-let basis

In July 2003 he decided to leave his job and began to buy investment properties full time. Now he also acts as a mentor to wannabe landlords with his HMO Daddy brand – offering courses for £299. He has even written a book entitled 'A Guide to Becoming A Multimillionaire HMO Landlord'.

"Teaching I still enjoy and I get a lot of pleasure out of it but it is more of a hobby," he said. As the proverb goes, fools build houses, wise men buy them.

Mr Haliburton's website is hmodaddy.com