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London Landlord Fined £16,000 for Category 1 Hazards
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
A London landlord that rented out a hazardous property to a family for years has been prosecuted by Harrow Council and ordered to pay fines and costs of more than £16,000.
London Landlord Fined £16,000 for Category 1 Hazards
Following a complaint from the tenant, Harrow Council’s environmental protection officers inspected Kanagaratnam Kesavan’s rental property on Rayners Lane, finding the house in a poor and dangerous condition.
Officers discovered category 1 hazards relating to excess cold, electrical hazards, personal hygiene sanitation and drainage, fire and food safety.
The long list of risks to the tenants included broken windows, broken electrical sockets, exposed wiring, a broken cooker, damaged and missing doors to kitchen units, missing tiles and a constantly running tap.
Kesavan was served with two improvement notices under the Housing Act 2004, requiring remedial works to be conducted to address the category 1 hazards. A further two notices were then served under the Environmental Protection Act for a broken boiler and water penetration from the toilet into the kitchen. Kesavan did not appeal these notices, nor did he contact the council to discuss the notices or works.
During a formal interview, Kesavan admitted to the offences of not complying with the notices, but blamed the tenants’ lifestyle for the damage. Evidence was presented to Willesden Magistrates’ Court on 15th March, to which he pleaded guilty and was fined and ordered to pay costs totalling £16,120
The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Crime and Community Safety at Harrow Council, Councillor Graham Henson, says: “All Harrow residents should be able to live in good quality accommodation, and I am shocked that someone would rent their property out while it was in such dangerous and life-threatening disrepair. Mr. Kesavan showed no interest in the safety of his tenants, nor did he bother to discuss the notices issued to him by the council. It could have been worse had our officers not intervened.
“Thanks to the hard work of our officers, we have had a successful prosecution. I hope that this sends a strong message to others that this is unacceptable.”1
1 http://www.harrow.gov.uk/news/article/373/landlord_hit_with_£16k_penalty
