Landlord in court with three property firms over HMO safety

A landlord and three property management companies have been fined approaching £80,000 for health and safety failings.

Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasool, Cadogan Assets Limited, Plaza Estates Agency Limited, and Turnpine Limited were ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £78,630 after a prosecution brought by Camden council. 

The defendants entered not guilty pleases to all charges but a court found all four guilty of offences under the Housing Act 2004 for letting an unlicensed HMO and the failure to comply with regulations 3 and 4 of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006. 

Additional charges were brought against Rasool and Cadogan Assets Limited for failing to respond to statutory requests for information.

The unlicensed HMO property in Kilburn is owned by Turnpine Limited and was being let through Plaza Estates Agency Limited to Cadogan Assets Limited, a company of which Rasool was the sole director. 

Camden council obtained a warrant to inspect the property in July 2021 when it was found to be an unlicensed HMO that was being let to five tenants. The inspection found multiple serious fire safety hazards that included partitioned walls in the kitchen and lounge used to create two additional bedrooms that did not have adequate fire escape routes, fire detection or fire-resistant doors.

The property has now been returned to its original layout and the partition walls removed. 

This is not the first time that Camden council has taken action against Rasool for letting unlicensed and unsafe HMO properties in the borough. 

In January 2022 it secured a landlord banning order against Rasool and in May 2022 he was ordered to pay £95,000 in fines and costs for letting an unlicensed HMO and safety offences.  

A spokesperson for the council says: “Around a third of Camden residents rent from private landlords and they deserve to live in properly regulated, safe homes and to be treated fairly. 

“We are here to stand up for private renters in our borough and we will not hesitate to take robust action against landlords when they repeatedly fail to meet their obligations. Our record of securing seven banning orders against rogue landlords is more than any other Council in England.

“We are committed to ensuring the highest standard of fire safety across all housing in Camden, including in our own housing stock. 

“We are investing significantly in our own council housing ensuring that each of our homes have appropriate fire doors, emergency lighting, fire alarms and fire stopping. By working towards this high standard of fire safety, we can rightly hold private landlords and management companies accountable to the same standards and ensure that every resident in Camden has a safe home to live in.”

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