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Written by Emma Lunn

Controversial landlord Andrew Panayi has hit back at the council’s treatment of him after officials shut down a block of flats he owns in Holloway Road, north London.

Panayi hit the headlines earlier this month after an article in The Guardian described the flats as “like prison cells”.

He says the decision to shut down his block of flats will mean tenants will be made homeless and face higher rent elsewhere. He also said he deserves an award for cleaning up the Caledonian Road area of Islington.

In an interview with local paper the Islington Tribune, Panayi accused the council of “punching first and asking questions later”.

He told the paper: “All of these people are now being made homeless, and they will end up having to pay more rent as the market price has gone up. The people in Holloway Road are placed there because they are vulnerable and some have problems. The council says the flats should be 12 metres in size and they are only nine. But the rules say they can be nine if there is a separate shared kitchen facility. I have kitchens in that building I could open. Why don’t they talk to me first?”

He also said that in the Holloway Road building he is only being paid half the rent being charged by rent-to-rent company Investing Solutions, which places homeless tenants via an organisation called Fresh Start.

Comments

  • icon

    Well, I believe its not the size, its what you do with it that counts!

    • 16 September 2014 17:09 PM
  • icon

    Is he seriously looking for an award for his generosity? Why isn't he in prison?

    • 16 September 2014 11:45 AM
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