A landlord has been hit with a £92,000 fine for breaches of licensing at a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).
Sanjay Patel is the owner of the property in Wembley, north London.
The three-storey HMO has six bedrooms, one self-contained unit and an outbuilding.
The outbuilding is self-contained but was not declared on the HMO application and did not form part of the HMO licence.
It had unsafe living conditions and triggered a complaint from the Metropolitan Police to Brent council.
The authority investigated and found Patel had committed serious breaches of the HMO licence and offences relating to safety.
Tenants were left dealing with a range of unsafe living conditions, including overcrowding and no access to keys to open locked windows.
Smoke alarms throughout the property were not working and the fire alarm panel was not operating correctly; occupants of this dwelling had no protection against a high-risk fire hazard.
Additionally, a couple and their four-month-old baby were living in the outbuilding, with no access to heating or electricity.
The council officers also found severe overcrowding in the property.
The licence permitted a maximum occupancy of seven people, but more than 18 people were believed to be occupying the property, including four people sharing one room in the attic.
The property had multiple breaches of safety and consequently of licence conditions.
Patel was convicted of breaching several improvement notices at Willesden Magistrates Court, which imposed a total financial penalty of £91,788, comprising:
- £87,000 fine
- £2,000 victim surcharge
- £2,788 prosecution costs
Patel is in the process of being banned and stripped of his licence and is awaiting a hearing at the Residential Property Tribunal in April.
A council spokesperson says: “These tenants were subjected to appalling living conditions, but this successful prosecution shows our firm stance against landlords who put profit above safety.
“It sends a very clear message that we will not tolerate landlords exploiting tenants and providing unsafe living conditions.”
