A record fine of £27,400 has been handed out to a landlord after tenants, including children, were discovered living in a slum (Photo on Flickr).
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Ashfaq Mohuiddin, aged 45, of Ridgeway Gardens, Ilford, was found guilty of 17 charges at Thames Magistrates’ Court. They included failing to license and manage a house in multiple occupation (HMO). The HMO was a mid-terrace block with four flats over a restaurant, on High Street North, East Ham.
Mohuiddin was also ordered to pay Newham Council’s costs of £3,515 and a victim surcharge of £15.
Horrified Newham Council housing inspectors found a number of occupiers and two children living in the unlicensed property, which was infested with mice and cockroaches. There were also no fire detectors.
It is a record fine for a landlord in Newham and believed to be one of the biggest in London.
Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales said: “We want to ensure that private sector rented properties are well managed and meet a good standard. We also want to deal with the crime and anti-social behaviour that is sometimes associated with bad private sector rented housing.
“One bad house can drag down a whole street and we are doing this for the community.
“There are good landlords in Newham and we want to work with them. Unfortunately there are also some unscrupulous ones – and these are the ones we are targetting.
“We will never accept private sector tenants being directly exploited by landlords who force them to live in dangerous and unacceptable conditions.
“Good landlords have nothing to fear. For the bad ones, we have a clear message: clean up your act or pay the price.”
