A landlord has been told to pay four tenants more than £28,000 after a tribunal found that he tried to prevent them providing information to the council about his unlicensed HMO.

A First Tier Property Tribunal heard that the two-storey maisonette in Trevelyan House, Morpeth Street, came under Tower Hamlets’ additional licensing scheme.

David Martinez had visited the property after one of the tenants contacted him regarding a letter from the council concerning the lack of a licence. Another tenant told the tribunal that Martinez took the letter and told them it was none of their business.

Martinez visited the property frequently without giving notice, according to the tenant, who told the tribunal that although some visits followed messages from tenants, they were not given 24 hours' notice. None of their deposits had been lodged with a tenancy deposit scheme, although Martinez did return their deposits at the end of each tenancy.

A council officer said Martinez had sent him an email advising that the block was managed by Rightlane properties.

Inspected

The property had been inspected in July 2024 by a building control officer who noted that there was no fire detection system or fire blanket in the kitchen, no CO alarm and no smoke alarms in the bedrooms. The internal doors were not fire doors with intumescent strips and there was no thumb lock on the front door.

The tenant told the tribunal that his room was cramped and there was no communal living space. There was some mould on the ceiling following roof leaks and while he accepted that the landlord had inspected and engaged someone to treat the mould, it reappeared.

The tribunal ruled that the landlord's failure to licence continued from at least November 2023 and continued to 31 January 2025 despite the notification from Tower Hamlets. It added: “The nature of the tenancy agreement and the email received from Mr Martinez shows an attempt to obscure the ownership of the property. Moreover, Mr Martinez removed a letter intended for the tenants to prevent them providing information in writing to Tower Hamlets.”

The tribunal awarded the tenants 70% of the rent paid, resulting in a total Rent Repayment Order of £28,093.

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