A buy to let investor who let out an unsafe and unlicensed property in London has now been hit with a £10,000 fine and costs after ignoring past warnings.
Hassan Elaadouli ignored two civil penalty notices, totalling £7,500, which were issued for failing to license two flats he owned in an area of Brent where selective licensing applies.
On a visit to the property, a council enforcement officer found a family on the ground floor living in a structurally unsafe flat, with the front right corner of the building falling away, the rear extension falling away from the main building, a leaking corrugated iron roof, exposed wires and not enough power sockets.
The conditions were so dangerous that the council helped the family to move into a hostel where they would be safe.
Now Elaadouli, from Wandsworth in south London, has pleaded guilty to failure to license at Willesden Magistrates Court; he was ordered to pay £8,000 and £2,000 in court costs.
A spokeswoman for Brent council says: "We're using licensing schemes to drive up housing standards in the private sector. No family should have to live in this way and we will pursue rogue landlords like this all the way to court when we need to. Mr Elaadouli had ample opportunity to pay the fines and to rectify the situation and landlords who exploit their tenants in this way will be held to account."
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So the message is, Don't bother paying Civil Penalties, because the court fine will only be he same [ or a few hundred quid more ]
Where are the courts for not supporting the local Authority using the Civil Penalties under the Housing and Planning Act. ?
Landlords ignoring compliance do not do the PRS any favours.
It is more a case of non- white LL not doing the PRS any favours.
Rarely are white LL found to be at fault.
It is always those LL without traditional British names that cause the problems.
Racial profiling should be adopted against such LL as it it is they that cause the majority of problems.
Target such LL with aggressive enforcement actions.
White LL are rarely the cause of PRS issues.
Ignoring these facts is just plain stupid.
anyone here notice that the only ones getting caught are not mr smith???? Bear in mind in Southwest, they mainly imposed their power against the non white rather than the white landlord. The imbalance of bringing to justice the white rogue landlord is glaringly high in the public eyes and newspaper as the non white are who they target on to set them up as an example. The white landlord are given more leniency even when it comes to the standard required. I do acknowledge that these non white tend to be ignorant of the law but to flaunt it into the face of authority wont be the first thing to come to their mind. it would be most often because they dont have the money or knowledge of how to defend themselves or what to do to move forward.
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