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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Tenants discovered living in cramped conditions during dawn raid

Brent Council in north London will be taking action against a buy-to-let landlord who is accused of “exploiting tenants” after  17 men were found living in a three-bedroom terrace house in Coles Green Road, Dollis Hill, during a dawn raid yesterday. 

Enforcement officers forced entry into the house on Thursday where they discovered overcrowded, unsafe and illegal housing conditions, including mould that covered the walls of one of the makeshift bedrooms on the ground floor. None of the smoke alarms in the property was in working order.

The men were paying £50 a week to a head tenant in order to sleep on mattrsses in the property, as well as gain access to the single bathroom and kitchen in the house. 

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Following the raid, which came about after a tip-off about a suspected unlicensed HMO, Spencer Randolph, head of private housing services, commented: "We've seen illegal sublets try to pass the buck on who is responsible for exploiting vulnerable tenants. The bottom line is that we will hold rogue landlords and subletters responsible for breaking licensing laws, and we'll take prosecutions against both.

"Running illegal, unlicensed properties can land landlords and subletters in court. If found guilty, they'll be subject to unlimited fines and a criminal conviction."

Licensing laws for small HMOs have been extended in Brent for a further five years.

 

Want to comment on this story? If so...if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.

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    Why not take action first only against the "head tenant" who was charging these sub tenants, almost certainly against the terms of the lease and probably without the knowledge or approval of the landlord? Arguably, frequent inspections would identify this problem, but we would then be accused of not leaving the tenant in peace.

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    That won't happen as the council will end up housing the main tenant and pay for poor depressed tenant whereas the landlord will pay otherwise has a home that will pay.

     
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    Simple question to Brent Council. We take it that you went on to house these 17 people in nice mould free 1 bed apartments at affordable rates equivalent to what they were paying before?

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    • 06 December 2019 03:28 AM

    Now a cynic might say what a great way to beat the Housing list!?
    One of us takes the hit but we cover all his costs and we all get nice social homes!

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