Two large letting agencies have been fined for breaching property management laws – and the council has warned others to heed regulations in order to avoid a similar fate.
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Ashdale Services, also known as Sylvan Estates, an agency with a large property portfolio in Haringey, has been fined close to £50,000 for breaching a special licensing scheme that regulates HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) in the Harringay Ladder area and for failing to maintain one of its properties on Effingham Road.
At Tottenham Magistrates’ Court this month, Ashdale owner George Georgiou pleaded guilty to failing to licence 128 Hewitt Rd and 128 Effingham Road as HMOs. They also accepted that the Effingham Rd property was poorly maintained. They admitted failing to provide functional smoke alarms, allowing bedrooms to become mouldy due to broken window sash cords and failing to fit hand rails in narrow, steep stair wells.
Another landlord, Blue Ribbon Properties (UK) Ltd, refused to replace faulty windows over the course of a year, despite repeated requests and court action from the council. They pleaded not guilty to failing to maintain a flat in 9 Handsworth Road, in Tottenham, but lost their case at the magistrates’ court.
Blue Ribbon was handed a £1500 fine for failing to maintain windows and allowing the property to become damp and was also ordered to pay the council £1250 in court costs.
Cllr John Bevan, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:
“It is simply not good enough that big landlords, who should know better, fail to properly licence and maintain their properties.
“Ashdale had the sense to plead guilty and the case was at least dealt with quickly. Blue Ribbon have cost themselves and the council valuable time and money – not to mention exacerbating the distress suffered by their tenants – by pleading not guilty. They now face far more in costs than if they had simply acted to replace the windows in the first place.
“The council will be putting increased resources into enforcing the HMO and other legislation and both these cases reinforce our message to landlords that if they don’t get the required licenses and they don’t properly maintain their properties for tenants, they will be taken to task.”
