A managing agent and two landlord brothers in Essex have been fined £5,000 between them after being found guilty of 25 offences in relation to an HMO they operated in which tenants lived in ‘unacceptable’ conditions.
Landlords Devinder Singh Rai and his brother Sohan Singh were found guilty at Colchester Crown Court of operating the property, which when raided by council officers was found to have five bedrooms with unrelated occupant sharing a single kitchen, bathroom and WC.
The property, which is on Boscombe Avenue in Grays, featured cables trailing along a front path, a water damaged and split ceiling, a poorly secured front door, broken kitchen units, damp and a non-working gas boiler and cooker.
The property’s managing agent was also found guilty of the offences, who is Goodmayes-based Ashford of Essex Ltd including its company directors Akhtar Latif and Mohammed Mobeen Mian Imtiaz.
Both the landlords and managing agent were also found guilty of not co-operating with the council’s investigation into the property, including not providing requested paperwork.
At the court hearing the landlord duo were told to each pay fines, costs and a victim surcharge of £1,680 while the directors of the managing agency must pay £785 each.
“This case is another reminder that we will not tolerate irresponsible landlords who fail to provide acceptable living conditions and have poor management arrangements in place,” says Cllr Barry Johnson, Thurrock Council’s portfolio holder for Housing (left).
“We have introduced a new additional licensing scheme in certain parts of the borough this month to tighten regulations around shared homes even further.”
Read more about fines for poorly-run HMOs.
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