News
Landlord of cockroach infested HMO in Wembley ordered to pay over £58,000
Brent Council have this week reported an important court victory over two irresponsible landlords responsible for appalling conditions at a property in London Road, Wembley.
The house, which was converted into seven rooms, was found to be occupied by 27 people including 6 children when the raid took place in August 2017.
Willesden Magistrates Court fined Mr Nitin Patel, who was the licence holder, a total of £43,261 for a range of offences, including £10,000 for allowing a cockroach infestation and £15,000 for fire safety breaches which left the tenants at severe risk.
Mr Vispasp Sarkari was fined a further £15,115 in the same case.
Video footage of Brent Council’s inspection in August 2017
Councillor Harbi Farah, Brent’s cabinet member for housing and welfare reform said:
“Once again the courts have reinforced Brent’s zero-tolerance approach to rogue landlords with these heavy fines. Most landlords in the area are reputable, decent people doing a good job, and both they and private tenants should be reassured that we will track down, raid and prosecute the small minority who abuse vulnerable tenants in overcrowded, infested and downright unsafe flats. This building was fit only for cockroaches and these two sorry-excuses for landlords should be deeply ashamed.“
Richard Tacagni, MD, London Property Licensing commented:
“It is important for landlords and agents to realise that obtaining a licence is just the start of the compliance process. Once a licence has been issued, the property must be effectively managed and occupancy levels controlled to comply with licence conditions.
“Let out an infested and overcrowded property with lack of fire precautions and the landlord is likely to face a hefty fine, as happened in this case“.
For more information about property licensing in Brent or for help with submitting a licence application, visit www.londonpropertylicensing.co.uk/brent.
For all the latest news and events, you can sign up for the free London Property Licensing newsletter here.
