Rogue landlord faces £40,000 bill after 24 tenants are found in filthy house meant for seven people

Squalid: Six people lived in a garden shed before it was destroyed by a fire
Brent Council
Jamie Bullen19 August 2016

A landlord faces a £40,000 legal bill after 24 tenants were found crammed inside a squalid house in north London meant for just seven people.

Seven families including 10 young children were discovered at the cockroach-infested property in Bowrons Avenue, Wembley that was damp, with no heating and rubbish strewn outside.

Six tenants lived in a shed in the back garden until it was destroyed by fire caused by a portable heater as a child slept inside.

The shocking conditions were uncovered by Brent Council’s housing enforcement officers following a raid in January. He was granted a licence to house seven people at his house.

Tilak Raj Sarna of Pinner pleaded guilty to housing offences during a two-day trial at Willesden Magistrates’ Court after he initially denied the charges.

Sarna was hit with fines totalling £33,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,420 and a £120 victim surcharge, leaving a total bill of £39,540.

Cllr Harbi Farah, Brent Council's Lead Member for Housing, said: "This case underlines the necessity of our commitment to ensuring private tenants in our borough have safe, high quality accommodation.

“In situations like this, unscrupulous landlords are not only taking financial advantage of vulnerable tenants; they're also placing tenants' lives in danger.

"We are improving standards in Brent's private rented properties by working with landlords through our property licensing regime, which helps ensure that tenants do not have to live in filthy, dangerous accommodation."

Cllr Margaret McLennan, Brent Council's deputy leader, said: "Where we find serious breaches of the law like this, we will always take landlords and their agents to court.

“Mr Sarna had housed a family in the garden shed and had grossly overcrowded the two storey property, leaving tenants in an unsafe, damp and cockroach-infested house while taking £3,700 off them each month for the privilege.

"As he had been granted a licence Mr Sarna knew exactly what was required of him, so we are very pleased that the court shared our view of the seriousness of the offences and imposed such severe penalties".

All tenants have now found alternative accommodation.

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