Two landlords  Muhammed Abdul and Amina Khatun Hamid tried to blame a letting agency EA property for not naming their son on the tenancy agreement rather than themselves as culpable for a rent repayment order, but ended up having to pay an extra £14,000 bill for their pains.

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The two tenants who rented the landlords’ four-bedroomed unlicensed flat in Holloway attempted to claim back their rent at a First Tier Property Tribunal which was told of the property’s state of disrepair. The tenants said their flat’s issues included water leaks, defective electrical sockets, disgustingly dirty carpets and curtains as well as mice.

One tenant said the landlords’ agent had twice threatened him with eviction and someone had also entered the property without any prior notification.

In spite of the two landlords not denying the property was unlicensed, Mr Hamid stated he did not own the property and was unable to tell the judge how many properties he rented out although it was definitely more than ten.

In summoning his decision the judge stated the landlords and EA had collaborated in an attempt to avoid liability to make their son Zahir Ahmed the culprit knowing full well the application would fail because it was time barred. 

The judge added: “To suggest it was a mistake was fanciful. No attempt had been made by the family to rectify this ‘mistake’ during the relevant period. In truth, the family had a portfolio of properties… some of these he owned as the paper owner and some of which his sons owned. The fact that the tenancy agreements for this property had been put in the parents’ names was deliberate as they were intended to be the landlords.

“Equally it is clear that the premises were in a very poor condition throughout the applicants’ occupation.”