A rogue landlord has been handed a whopping £92,000 fine for renting out an unheated outhouse to a couple with a four-month-old baby.

Sanjay Patel is now likely to be banned from renting properties after Brent Council found severe overcrowding in his HMO in Wyld Way, Wembley. Although his licence allowed a maximum of seven tenants, more than 18 people were believed to be occupying the property, including four people sharing one room in the attic.

The three-storey, six-bed HMO has one self-contained unit and an outbuilding, which was not declared on the HMO application and did not form part of the HMO licence, according to the council. This had the most unsafe living conditions and triggered a complaint from the Metropolitan Police to the council.

Unsafe

An investigation found Patel had left tenants dealing with a range of unsafe living conditions - they didn’t even have keys to locked windows. Smoke alarms and the fire alarm panel were not working while the couple and their four-month-old baby were living in the outbuilding without heating or electricity.

The property had multiple safety and licence condition breaches, and Patel was convicted of breaching several improvement notices at Willesden Magistrates Court. He was handed a £87,000 fine, £2,000 victim surcharge and £2,788 prosecution costs.

Banned

The council reports that Patel is in the process of being banned and stripped of his licence and is awaiting a property tribunal hearing next month. The couple with the young baby were referred to the housing options team at the council for help in finding a new home.

Councillor Fleur Donnelly-Jackson, cabinet member for housing (pictured), says: “These tenants were subjected to appalling living conditions, but this successful prosecution shows our firm stance against landlords who put profit above safety. It sends a very clear message that we will not tolerate landlords exploiting tenants and providing unsafe living conditions.”

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