Landlord convicted for overcrowding house

Enfield Magistrates made a landlord and his property agent pay over £9,000 in fines and costs on 25th January.

The penalty was for allowing 18 people to live in a 3 bed roomed, terraced house in Sutherland Road, Edmonton, in spite of legal action by Enfield Council.

Carly Freed, trading as Hawkeye Estates, and landlord Suresh Patel pleaded guilty to allowing gross overcrowding to continue after an officer from Enfield Council’s Private Sector Housing team took legal action forcing them to stop the practice.

They were each fined £1,700 and made to pay a total of £6,000 costs between them.

During an early morning visit last July ten adults and eight children were found sleeping at the house. Neighbours in the street were increasingly concerned about the level of noise and the comings and goings.

David Legg, head of Private Sector Housing said “This prosecution would not have happened without the excellent work of not only my staff, but the community safety team, police, residents, and Enfield Council’s legal service in obtaining evidence and acting on it. I hope we will build on this example in the future.

“Overcrowding on this scale is a serious matter. It can damage the health of the occupants, especially children, and cause serious disturbance to local residents. There can also be links to crime in some instances.

“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. I want to send a clear message to the small minority of property agents and landlords who exploit tenants and flout the law for profit that the Council will have no hesitation in prosecuting them.

“Landlords must also remember that they cannot hide behind their agents. Even if they employ an agent to manage their property, they are the ones who are ultimately held responsible if something should go wrong.”

This document was last updated on 2008-01-30 16:10:06 published by the Communications team. Document Reference:LBE_132306