Landlords in a big London borough who are operating unlicensed HMOs or unsafe properties are being targeted by a council crackdown on its residential streets.
Harlow officials says they are concerned about poor standards within its private rented sector and rogue landlords.
Enforcement officers have been making and will continue to make unannounced visits to properties that have been identified as illegal HMOs in particular, on one occasion joined by the councils’ Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Public Protection, Joel Charles (main image).
The visits are part of the council’s Building Harlow’s Future plan which aims to ensure that all private tenants live in safe, decent homes that meet legal standards, while supporting responsible landlords who maintain quality housing.
Councillor Charles says he is concerned that some private sector landlords in the town are putting their tenants and the community at risk by operating unlicensed HMOs.
“I recently joined council officers to execute a warrant at a property identified as a suspected unlicensed house in multiple occupation.
“The condition of the property was shocking"
“The condition of the property was shocking, so enforcement action is now being taken against the landlord.
““Landlords who are found to run unsafe properties will be held to account and face severe consequences for their actions.
“The council is scaling up its approach to enforcement to help raise housing standards in Harlow.
“Those landlords who do the right thing will continue to have the council’s support, but there will be no hesitation to act if the housing standards required are not delivered.
“Through tougher inspections and decisive action, the council is working to improve the quality of private sector housing available in the district.”
Harlow operates a Mandatory HMO property licensing scheme covering HMOs with five or more unrelated people, but not an Additional one for smaller HMOs. Last year a landlord was fined £23,000 for operating an illegal HMO in the town.
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