A three year banning order has been served on a property management firm and its directors.
The First-tier Tribunal has imposed the orders on R&G Agent Ltd and its directors, Rafael Mendes Torres and Evandro dos Santos Gomes.
Banning orders are among the strongest powers available to local authorities and are reserved for the most serious housing offences. Breaching a banning order is a criminal offence.
The three-year banning orders, effective from August 21 this year, prevent the individuals and company from letting housing, managing rental properties and acting as letting agents in England.
The case centres on a flat in east London which was illegally operated as an HMO without the required licence between January 2022 and December 2023.
Investigations by Tower Hamlets council revealed that the property had been converted from a two-bedroom flat into as many as five bedrooms, leading to overcrowding and inadequate living conditions.
Up to six tenants were living in the property, with reports of unsafe and unacceptable conditions, including:
One tenant reported that complaints about conditions were not met with repairs, but with a rent increase.
The company had previously been convicted of the same offence at another property, demonstrating a pattern of non-compliance.
The Tribunal found that the agency and landlords showed a “dangerous” lack of knowledge of their legal responsibilities and had failed to take meaningful steps to improve standards.
It also concluded that the property had been poorly managed and that the landlords had attempted to mislead tenants and the council.
A council spokesperson says: “Every resident deserves a safe, secure and well-managed home, and we will continue to take robust enforcement action against those who fail to meet their legal responsibilities.”
This article is taken from Landlord Today