A letting agent and landlord have been fined and prosecuted after it transpired that they have been operating number of bedsits at an address in South London, without the necessary declaration.
Landlord Javaid Akhtar and agent Zahoor Mansoor failed to disclose that they rented out eight bedsits in an end-of-terrace property in Tooting.
Legal Obligations
Both owners and managing agents of properties such as this are legally permitted to make sure that a HMO licence is obtained. In this case however, both men were guilty of disobeying this. As a result, they pleaded guilty to breaching the Housing Act 2004 when taken to court.
Mr Akhtar was ordered to pay £7,120 in fines and court costs, while Mr Mansoor was fined £2,550.
A Wandsworth council spokesman commented that,’ this legislation was introduced to make sure that tenants are fully protected from potentially unscrupulous landlords who might want to make unreasonable profits by cramming in too many tenants or by cutting corners on fire safety.’[1]
‘It is vitally important that homes that have been converted into multiple flats or bedsits are maintained to a high standard and that all the necessary safety measures are met in full,’ the council spokesman added.[2]
[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/11/letting-agent-and-landlord-fined-over-unlicensed-hmo