A rogue landlord from Harrow has landed himself in trouble after an inspection by Harrow Council uncovered that he was housing 5 tenants and himself in his dangerous 2 bedroom property.
When officers inspected the suspected unlicensed House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) on Headstone Drive, they discovered there was a breach of the Emergency Prohibition Order (EPO).
The council confirmed that the property was in alarming disrepair that was so bad, that one plug in the loft was serving a network of daisy chained extension leads powering multiple appliances including electric fires, TVs, and a music system.
In order to get to the bedrooms, tenants would have had to use an illegally installed staircase with no fire protection to the loft. The loft itself had load bearing removed and was not safe for habitation, said the council.
In addition, a large window unit on the first floor was held with tape and installed the wrong way around with the handle on the outside.
Landlord, Paul Ettienne, pleaded guilty at Willesden Magistrates court on Thursday 16 June and was ordered to pay £3,660.00. He blamed on the Coronavirus pandemic and the loss of income for making no attempt on improvements to the property.
Cllr Anjana Patel, cabinet member for environment and community safety at Harrow Council said: “Not only did Etienne ignore the conditions of the protection order, but he thought he was above the law and could get away with housing tenants in his death trap property. Thanks to the work of our officers the law caught up with him and he has a price to pay.
“Everyone has a right to safe place they can call home but unfortunately there are a minority who put greed before the safety of their tenants. That is unacceptable and that’s why we are putting residents first and coming after those operating illegally.”
