An agency in North West London has been found guilty of a series of offences under the Housing Act 2004 at two Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in Camden.
At Highbury Corner Magistrates Court, London Living Group Limited of 1a Chalk Farm Parade, Adelaide Road, London, England, NW3 2BN and its company director, Alvaro Odeh-Torro, of London Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, SS9 and Chalk Farm Parade, Adelaide Road, London, NW3 were, between them, convicted of a total of eight offences under the Housing Act 2004, committed at two Camden properties, and collectively fined a total of £47,200 with costs of £3,000.
Both properties were licensed as HMOs and were inspected after the Council obtained information that Mr Odeh-Torro and his company were involved with the management of the property. Mr Odeh-Torro is well known to Camden Council after it had taken earlier enforcement action against other companies (Alterna Limited and LRTR Limited) for similar offences under the Act previously and issued financial penalties for breaches of the Act against companies of which was a director.
An inspection of 25 Carrol Close on 2 February 2023 found that the property was being occupied by more households than was authorised by the HMO licence (an offence under s.72(2) of the Act. Officers also noted several issues breaching the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 including defective fire doors.
The inspection of 68-70 Falkland Road on 9th March 2023 also found that an undersized room was being occupied despite the HMO licence specifically stating that the room should not be occupied.
Mr Odeh-Torro and London Living Limited also pleaded guilty to offences under s.238 of the Housing Act 2004 after they were found to have provided false or misleading information to the Council relating to the receipt of rental payments from the tenants.