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| * Cllr Jackie Smith |
A rogue landlord and their letting agent have both been fined for a litany of offences, including an absence of smoke detectors, relating to an illegally established house of multiple occupation on Frances Street, Woolwich.
At a Bexley Magistrates’ Court hearing on 18 April 2016, Mr. Oner Arslanboga, the owner of the property and Mr. Kawsar representing South East Residentials Limited, were found guilty of failing to license a house in multiple occupation (HMO), being in breach of the Housing Act 2004 and failing to comply with Management of Houses of Multiple Occupations (England) Regulations 2006.
The premises first came to the attention of the Royal Borough of Greenwich in 2013 when Environmental Health Officers suspected that the premises was an unlicensed house in multiple occupation. Officers quickly served an Improvement Notice after an inspection. The then owner claimed that it was not an HMO and applied for a temporary exemption notice so that the premises did not require to be licensed.
The premises came to the attention of the Royal Borough yet again in June 2015 as a result of communication from a tenant where the description of the poor living conditions led to the assessment that it was unequivocally being used as an HMO.
On 18 August 2015 Environmental Health Officers extensively re-inspected the premises. Three tenants were present during the inspection and they all confirmed that they paid rent to Mr. Arslanboga. The inspection revealed that all five rooms were occupied by at least one person unrelated to the occupants of the other rooms. Most of the rooms failed to comply with even basic housing regulations with missing smoke detectors and widespread use of socket adaptors.
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Mr. Kawsar representing South East Residentials Limited previously claimed that, as the Managing Agent, they were not informed of the Council inspection by the owner. He also claimed that he had informed the owner of the works that needed to be carried out, but Mr. Arslanboga refused to pay for the HMO licence and works as it was ‘expensive.’
The Court fined Mr. Arslanboga £5,600 and ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £750 as well as a victim’s surcharge of £120. SE Residentials were fined £1,750, prosecution costs totalling £375 and a victim surcharge of £120.
Cllr Jackie Smith (top right), Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Environment said: “The Royal Borough of Greenwich is sending a clear message that rogue landlords will absolutely not be tolerated in this borough. We are taking a proactive approach across the Council to tackle this issue and are increasingly honing in on this minority of landlords who think that they are above the law.”
If you are concerned that a private property may be overcrowded or operating illegally, you can contact the Council on 020 8921 8157 or email:
residentialservices@royalgreenwich.gov.uk.
The Court fined Mr. Arslanboga £5,600 and ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £750 as well as a victim’s surcharge of £120. SE Residentials were fined £1,750, prosecution costs totalling £375 and a victim surcharge of £120.
Cllr Jackie Smith (top right), Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Environment said: “The Royal Borough of Greenwich is sending a clear message that rogue landlords will absolutely not be tolerated in this borough. We are taking a proactive approach across the Council to tackle this issue and are increasingly honing in on this minority of landlords who think that they are above the law.”
If you are concerned that a private property may be overcrowded or operating illegally, you can contact the Council on 020 8921 8157 or email:
residentialservices@royalgreenwich.gov.uk.
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