Posts with tag: Wembley

Wembley Landlord Mohammed Ali Dealt Final Blow

Published On: September 21, 2016 at 8:27 am

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,,,

A rogue Wembley landlord has been fined almost £7,500 for cramming six families into an unlicensed, semi-detached house.

A mother and her two children shared one bedroom

A mother and her two children shared one bedroom

Willesden Magistrates’ Court was told that Mohammed Mehdi Ali, of Barn Hill in Wembley, had not bothered to license his property, which was built as a four-bedroom family home. It now has six bedsit-style rooms and a shared kitchen and bathroom.

A raid by council enforcement officers found that 16 people were living in the house, including at least six children. Each of the rooms were let to a different family or group, with each only having their bedroom as living space, as the living room was being used as another bedroom. The tenants shared just one bathroom and two toilets between them.

The situation was only made worse by Mr. Ali’s blatant disregard of basic fire safety measures. Despite earning at least £2,300 per month in rent from the property, the Wembley landlord had not installed adequate smoke alarms or fire doors.

It also emerged that Mr. Ali lives next door to the rented house, something the court considered to be an aggravating factor in the case, as he would have been fully aware of what was going on in his property.

As he did not attend court, Mr. Ali was convicted in his absence of offences under the Housing Act 2004, and was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,318 and a victim surcharge of £170 – a total of £7,488.

The Wembley landlord had used a letting agent, Easy Let Homes, to collect rent on his behalf. The company pleaded guilty to offences under the Housing Act 2004, and was fined £450 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £45. The court said that it had taken the company’s full cooperation into account.

Councillor Harbi Farah, Brent Council’s Lead Member for Housing, comments on the case: “Given the serious overcrowding and poor fire safety in this house, we could easily be reflecting on a much more serious crime here.

“The contempt Mr. Ali has shown for this legal process by not even bothering to turn up for sentencing speaks volumes. The vast majority of landlords and letting agents in Brent are honest and law abiding, but we take a zero tolerance approach to the minority who think they can treat their tenants like this. Failure to license your property could result in an unlimited fine and a criminal record.”

Are you a Wembley landlord? Remember that most private landlords in Brent are legally required to obtain a license for their properties from the council. Find out more at www.brent.gov.uk/prslicensing.

Rogue Landlord Fined £40k for Cramming 24 Tenants into House

Published On: August 18, 2016 at 8:36 am

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,,,,

A rogue landlord in Wembley has been fined almost £40,000 for cramming 24 tenants into his House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).

Willesden Magistrates’ Court was told that Tilak Raj Sarna, of George V Avenue in Pinner, initially claimed innocence, but then admitted his guilt after two days of cross examination.

Brent Council granted Sarna a license to house seven tenants at his HMO on Bowrons Avenue, but discovered that 24 people, including seven families with ten young children, were living in the property when housing enforcement officers made an unannounced visit in January 2016.

The squalid conditions discovered at the house include:

  • A cockroach infestation
  • Rogue Landlord Fined £40k for Cramming 24 Tenants into House

    Rogue Landlord Fined £40k for Cramming 24 Tenants into House

    Disregard of basic fire safety measures, such as missing smoke alarms, overloaded electrical sockets and inadequate fire doors

  • Cold and damp rooms
  • Overflowing bins outside the property

Six of the tenants lived in an unheated shed in the house’s back garden until it burnt down in October last year, in a fire caused by a portable heater. The sheer number of people living in the small space exacerbated the blaze, which started while a child was sleeping in the shed.

The court fined Sarna £33,000 for his overcrowding and fire safety offences. He was also ordered to pay costs of £6,420 and a £120 victim surcharge, making a total of £39,540.

Anila Patel, who collected £3,700 in rent each month from the tenants on the landlord’s behalf, was also prosecuted during the case. She was convicted of two offences, fined £1,000 and ordered to pay a £90 victim surcharge.

All of the tenants living in the property have now found alternative accommodation.

Councillor Harbi Farah, Brent Council’s Lead Member for Housing, says: “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.”

The council’s Deputy Leader, Councillor Margaret McLennan, also comments: “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 license, 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.”

Most private landlords in Brent are legally required to obtain a license from the council. Find out more here: www.brent.gov.uk/prslicensing