A landlord has been ordered to pay £37,000 in fines and costs after Barnet Council inspectors found 18 tenants including children and infants, sharing a house in Edgware.
The home, in Fairmead Crescent, Edgware, originally built as a three-bedroom linked terraced house had been converted into eight bedsits and was being operated without a licence.
Following complaints from neighbours about noise, antisocial behaviour and overcrowding, council inspectors entered the property with a warrant accompanied by the police.
They found extreme overcrowding with one room being shared by six people including infants and another room of only 7.8 square metres being occupied by two tenants.
As well as being overcrowded the building did not meet safety standards, had an inadequate fire alarm system, and no safe means of escape in case of fire.
Officers reported that the rear garden was filled with building waste, mattresses and other debris, that there was a kitchen in a separate structure in the garden, and there was disrepair throughout the property.
Landlord Charles Egbiremolen was found guilty at Willesden Magistrates Court on Monday 25 November 2024 of 9 offences including failing to licence the property, management and safety offences and failure to supply statutory information to the Council.
Summing up, the District Judge commented that in his view Mr Egbiremolen was "not a person who responds positively to laws and regulations."
In sentencing him on 5 February 2025, the judge described Mr Egbiremolen as a "classic rogue landlord."
Subject to an individual assessment any landlord prosecuted by the Council and convicted by the courts is no longer likely to be considered to be a “fit and proper” person to manage a licensable HMO in the borough.
A council spokesperson said: "The safety of our residents is paramount and we will not tolerate landlords who flout the rules in Barnet. It is the responsibility of every landlord to make sure that their properties comply with the law and their tenants are safe. Landlords who fail to licence or manage their HMOs or let properties in a state of disrepair risk prosecution or penalty notices of up to £30,000 per offence”
Tenants who are concerned that they might be living in an unlicensed HMO or have disrepair that their landlord is not dealing with can report it at https://www.barnet.gov.uk/housing/private-housing/private-tenants
The council has an HMO licensing scheme, requiring the majority of HMOs in the borough to be licenced and to maintain safety standards. To avoid action by the council landlords should apply for a licence at: https://www.barnet.gov.uk/housing/private-housing/houses-multiple-occupation