Rogue Landlords Fined for HMO Violations

A shocked council housing team responding to complaints about noise and anti-social behaviour found 18 people shoehorned into a three-bedroom terraced house.

Neighbours alerted Barnet Council, North London, to the overcrowded house.

Police and housing officers raided the home in Fairmead Crescent, Edgeware, and found six people, including a baby, sharing one room, while 12 other people occupied seven other bedsits in the tiny property.

Willesden magistrates heard that landlord Charles Egbiremolen, 57, had converted the house into bedsits without planning permission and had no house in multiple occupation (HMO) licence.

The court was told there was disrepair throughout the property, which failed to meet safety standards. The fire alarm was inadequate, and there was no safe fire escape.

The back garden was filled with building waste, mattresses, and other rubbish, while the kitchen was in a separate structure in the garden.

Egbiremolen was found guilty of nine housing-related offences and ordered to pay fines and costs of £37,000.

Missed deadline costs landlord £1,300

Landlord Souhil Laib missed the deadline for applying for an HMO licence on a shared house in Tylorstown, South Wales.

Despite working with Rhondda CynonTaf County Borough Council to improve the property for two years, Laib was taken to Merthyr Magistrates Court in March 2024, where he was ordered to pay £2,278 in fines and costs.

The HMO remained without a licence, so the council offered Laib 21 days to apply for one, but he ignored the warning.

Laib and his company, Laib Property Management Ltd, were taken back to court, where magistrates found both guilty and ordered them to pay more fines and costs of £1,293.

Letting agent quizzed over missing cash

Police quizzed a 40-year-old woman about missing rent and deposits paid to the liquidated letting agent, TIILI, in Norwich.

She was released on bail as police inquiries continue.

Landlords and renters claim the firm owes them thousands of pounds and that they are facing financial hardship.

Unlicensed HMOs spur fines

Haringey Council, North London, has issued an update on legal action against landlords.

The council has listed recent court cases, including:

• A Tottenham landlord was fined £1,500 for running an unlicensed HMO, while a tenant who sublet the property without telling the landlord was ordered to pay £5,000 in fines and costs.
• Another Tottenham landlord was ordered to pay £10,000 in fines and costs for renting an unlicensed HMO.

Landlords in Wood Green and Northumberland Park, Tottenham, were issued civil penalty notices for £1,750 and £2,000, respectively, for renting unlicensed HMOs.

Student landlord failed to maintain HMO

A landlord renting shared houses to students has admitted failing to maintain and clean two properties - and the prosecuting council has warned that more summonses for similar offences at other properties are on the way.

Hasan Kazi pleaded guilty to nine offences related to breaking the terms of a prohibition order, ignoring an improvement notice and other offences associated with managing two HMOs at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court.

Sentencing is set for April 16, so Bradford Council can bring the additional charges.