A landlord who thought he could ignore council warnings over a property’s lack of licence and its poor state of repair has been fined £10,000.
The unnamed property owner, who operates a rented home on Dawlish Road (pictured) in Tottenham, North London, also harassed the family renting the home, Haringey council has claimed.
It was originally tipped off that the property was an unlicensed HMO but a site visit found instead that it was rented by a single family, making it covered by the council’s selective licensing scheme which has been live since November 2022 within several wards of the borough.
As well as being in a state of disrepair, it was found during a second visit attended by the landlord that the property was not licensed while questionable council tax exemptions were also identified, raising concerns the property had been wrongly declared as vacant.
The landlord continued to do nothing but eventually made a very late licence application, which did not stop the council issuing the fine, particularly because the property was in such a poor state, and harassment of the tenant by the landlord.
“Landlords in Haringey are legally required to meet their responsibilities. This case sends a strong signal - our officers will pursue the facts and take action where standards are breached,” says Cllr Sarah Williams, (pictured) Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning and Deputy Leader of the Council.
“We simply will not tolerate unsafe, unlicensed rental homes. Every resident deserves decent, secure housing, and where landlords fall short, we’ll step in to protect our communities.”
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