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£40,000 penalty for HMO landlord who allowed overcrowding in poor housing conditions (22 August 2016)

Date: 22/08/2016
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, £40,000 penalty for HMO landlord who allowed overcrowding in poor housing conditions

Brent Council has prosecuted a Wembley landlord for allowing 24 tenants to live in cramped housing conditions in a property licensed to house just seven people.

Landlord Tilak Raj Sarna – of George V Avenue in Pinner, Middlesex – only admitted the offence following two days of cross examination at Willesden Magistrates’ Court.

The court heard that Brent Council had granted Sarna a licence to house seven people at his house in multiple occupation (HMO) on Bowrons Avenue in Wembley.

However, when Brent housing enforcement officers made an unannounced visit to the house in January 2016, they found 24 tenants living there – including seven families with ten young children.

Council officers also found that six tenants had lived in an unheated shed in the back garden – until the shed burnt down in October 2015, in a fire caused by a portable heater.

The blaze had started as a child slept in the shed – and was aggravated by the number of people living in the small space, the court was told.

Housing inspectors also found the property to have an infestation of cockroaches – and there was a “blatant disregard” for basic fire safety measures, with missing smoke alarms, overloaded electrical sockets and inadequate fire doors. The house also had cold and damp rooms – and there were overflowing bins outside the house.

Magistrates handed Sarna fines totalling £33,000 – he was also ordered to pay costs of £6,420 and a £120 victim surcharge, bringing the total penalty to £39,540.

After sentencing, Brent Council's Lead Member for Housing, Councillor Harbi Farah, said:

“This case underlines the necessity of our commitment to ensuring private tenants in our borough have safe, high-quality accommodation.

“In situations like this, unscrupulous landlords are not only taking financial advantage of vulnerable tenants, they're also placing tenants' lives in danger.

“We are improving standards in Brent's private rented properties by working with landlords through our property licensing regime, which helps ensure that tenants do not have to live in filthy, dangerous accommodation.”

Brent Council's Deputy Leader, Cllr Margaret McLennan – who accompanied officers on the raid in January – added:

“Where we find serious breaches of the law like this, we will always take landlords and their agents to court.

“Mr Sarna had housed a family in the garden shed – and had grossly overcrowded the two-storey property, leaving tenants in an unsafe, damp and cockroach-infested house, while taking £3,700 off them each month for the privilege.

“As he had been granted a licence, Mr Sarna knew exactly what was required of him – so we are very pleased that the court shared our view of the seriousness of the offences and imposed such severe penalties.”

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