A council is reportedly investigating whether a landlord has appropriate planning consent for what have been described as “tiny” studio flats, one of which allegedly has its toilet inside the shower cubicle because space is so tight.
London’s freepaper the Evening Standard claims that tenants of the 17 apartments have been allegedly hit with “revenge evictions” after complaining to their landlord about heavy metal music blaring from a studio below, where bands rehearse from 10am until midnight.
The paper quotes one unnamed tenant saying: “There has been rock and heavy metal music blaring all night. The noise is unbearable. Sometimes I have to cry myself to sleep. The conditions are cramped… But the noise has made it too much and when I complained I got an eviction notice. It’s definitely a revenge eviction. I’ve been punished for complaining.”
The Standard claims least two tenants have been served with Section 21 notices, giving them two months to leave. Others have been served with notices terminating their tenancies.
Hackney council is investigating the complaints and whether the landlord - who apparently charges £258 a week for the units - has the correct planning permission.
The newspaper has named that landlord as Eliezer Schwarcz. It says he “refused to comment when the Standard approached him at his £1.5 million semi-detached townhouse in Stoke Newington.”
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Comments
If politicians really want to tackle the minority of bad and cash landlords, put the investment into under resourced Environmental Health Depts and planning enforcement depts of Councils, where it counts.
A new Bill isn't going to touch the minority of bad landlords but will affect the number of properties on the market. No sane person will put their property at risk and I forsee the advent of holiday lets and short term lets.