Letting agent hit with five figure fine for breaching...

A landlord who is also the owner of a High Street lettings agency has been fined £17,293 for breaching housing licence conditions, including letting a family of five live in one small room.

During an inspection in December 2021 at a property in Westcliff-on-Sea, in breach of several HMO licence conditions, officers from Southend-on-Sea council found with disrepair to windows and staircases, a lack of fire safety, and waste underneath an outside staircase.

The inspecting officer also found evidence of overcrowding as a family, with two adults and three children living in one room.

The offences breached the HMO licence, and prosecution began. The licence was revoked immediately and prohibition order prevents anyone staying at the house until it is made safe and the family were relocated.

Ruhul Shamsuddin and his company Lordsons Estates were found guilty in absence of all 23 offences at Colchester Magistrates Court.

Both Shamshuddin and the company were fined a total of £17,293 and a member of the Southend-on-Sea council, David Garston, says: “Landlords who exploit the vulnerabilities of people in need and provide substandard and unsafe accommodation will be caught and will face consequences.

“I'm so pleased we were able to relocate this family living in overcrowded conditions and I am so pleased the courts recognised the seriousness of the charges and imposed such a fine as this sends the right message out to others who may want to flout the rules.”