A successful investigation by Newham Council’s Environmental Health Officers has resulted in a £60,000 fine for a landlord who placed families in a dangerously overcrowded property.
Thames Magistrates Court has fined managing agent Mr. Ilyas Patel £60,000, with additional costs bringing the total to £63,977.19, after finding him guilty of failing to license a dangerously overcrowded property on Altmore Avenue, East Ham, E6.
In November 2023, Environmental Health Officers inspected the mid-terrace property and found five rooms occupied by at least four unrelated families, including two with small children. With all nine to 13 occupants sharing a single kitchen and bathroom, the conditions were cramped and unsuitable, with those tenants officers spoke to, paying between £600-£750 in rent a month to live there.
The inspection also revealed a severe mice infestation in the property, adding to the residents’ hardships.
Newham, which has the longest running whole-borough landlord licensing scheme in the country proactively pursues this sort of situation to bring rogue landlords to justice. Every couple of weeks it goes looking for hidden Houses of Mass Occupation (HMO)s rather than waiting for complaints from tenants terrified of retaliatory evictions or with nowhere else to go
A Newham Council spokesperson said: “This verdict sends a strong message to landlords and managing agents that overcrowded, unsafe, and unlicensed properties will not be accepted in Newham
“This prosecution highlights how seriously we take our responsibility to safeguard the well-being of all our residents, ensuring that housing conditions meet legal standards.
