Tenants who lived with rats, damp and mould in an unlicensed HMO have been awarded a £17,100 rent repayment order.

A First Tier Property Tribunal heard that landlord, Viraj Enterprises Ltd, failed to maintain the four-bedroom terraced house in Wolsey Street, Reading, to a good standard.

The four former tenants - represented by Justice for Tenants – said five people had lived there between July 2023 and July 2024 which meant it needed an HMO licence. They told the tribunal that along with the licensing breach, they had to put up with substantial disrepair.

There had been a substantial leak in March 2024, but the landlord failed to do anything until four months later. The tribunal was shown pictures of damp and mould in one of the rooms along with pictures of rats, while there was also a problem with the heating and hot water.

Delay

The tenants contacted the agents, Oceania Properties, about the disrepair, but there had been a delay in addressing the issues. The landlord was supposed to arrange a cleaner for the common areas, but this had not been done, while the smoke detectors were defective. Viraj Enterprises did not respond to the allegations or attend the hearing.

The judge said the landlord did not have a reasonable excuse during the relevant period. He added: “We consider that this offence was serious as the applicants were potentially placed at risk by virtue of the fact that the premises were not licensed. There was also evidence of poor conduct by the respondents as there was serious disrepair at the premises that was not properly dealt with. We were not impressed by the respondent’s failure to take part in the proceedings which also reflects on their conduct.”

The tenants were awarded 75% of the rent claimed along with £569 costs.

Photo: Google

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