21st
Oct 2016
A Waltham Forest landlord has been handed an Interim Management Order on his property by the council. The authority is now in charge of the daily management of the house, as it states the landlord's “complete refusal to operate responsibly.”
Recently council officers turned up at the property unannounced in the early morning and whilst changing the locks informed the tenants that it would now be acting as their landlord.
Waltham Council had already sent legal notices to the owner notifying him that it would receive the monthly rental income from the tenants.
The property which 'suffered' the IMO, is a three storey building in multiple occupation, the landlord's HMO licence was cancelled in July 2015 as the property was overcrowded and in an extremely poor condition.
The council said that the landlord had not bothered to reapply for the licence or carry out the necessary improvements to the property, so it had no other recourse than to start the prosecution process earlier this year.
The authority reported that the house breached a number of planning regulations for rental properties. The top floor had been converted into a flat and a large bed-in-shed in the back garden was housing four tenants, and these were just some of the breaches committed by the landlord.
Sixteen people, which included several young children, were living in five units in the house. The landlord was receiving more than £4,000 monthly rental income, even when two rooms were vacant.
A statement from the council explained that: “Despite raking this in the owner has not paid council tax on the property since 2012, and is currently over £4,000 in arrears.”
The council has drawn up a list of the mandatory improvements and repairs that must be carried out and has received a price from a contractor for doing the work. The rental income that the council receives will pay for the work and its management costs whilst acting as the landlord.
The council is still trying to confirm the landlord's address and hopes that in time he will get in contact to pay any outstanding debts and deal with the outstanding breaches.
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