A Harrow landlord has been fined £5,000 after renting out a dangerous and illegally built garage to a young mother and her child.
Council officers stepped in after concerns were raised by the police and discovered the outbuilding was being used as living accommodation in unsafe and unacceptable conditions.
The garage had never been designed or approved for people to live in and was found to be structurally unsafe. Officers uncovered serious health and safety hazards, including DIY electrical wiring, damaged sockets and an excessive number of extension leads.
Inside, there was flammable timber cladding, plastic wall finishes, no smoke alarm, no insulation, no fixed heating and no proper fire escape route. There was also no secure door or window to protect the family living there.
Because of the risks, the council issued an Emergency Prohibition Order, banning anyone from using the outbuilding as accommodation.
The landlord was also given a £5,000 Civil Penalty Notice for failing to declare the outbuilding in connection with a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence and for providing false information. The fine has now been paid.
The mother and child have since been moved into a safe and suitable home.
Cllr Pritesh Patel, Cabinet Member for Cleaner Streets and Public Safety for Harrow Council said: “This landlord put lives at risk – and that is simply unacceptable. No one should have to live in unsafe or dangerous conditions. Our officers are cracking down on rogue landlords who put profit before people.
“Thanks to joint work with the police, we’ve taken swift enforcement action and ensured the mother and child are now in a safe, suitable home – no longer exposed to these appalling conditions. We’ll continue to put residents and their safety first and bring the law onto anyone else who thinks they can flout the law.”
Chris Mitchell is the founder and editor of Harrow Online, Harrow’s leading local news platform.
He launched Harrow Online in 2010 as a Facebook page sharing local news and information. Since then, it has grown into a trusted source for breaking news, crime, council decisions, planning, transport, business and community stories across the borough.
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