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Rogue Hillingdon landlord couple fined £27,000 for hazardous HMO

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  • 14/03/2022
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Rogue Hillingdon landlord couple fined £27,000 for hazardous HMO
Husband and wife landlords have been ordered to pay £27,000 be the court after it was found they were renting a property which was not “fit for human habitation”.

Robin and Susan Kirstein were sentenced at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Friday 4 March after admitting to breaching the Housing Act and the Building Act. 

The four-storey building was a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) with a shop on the ground floor. It had three flats, including two which were split across the top floor. 

An inspection by Hillingdon Council found the property failed to meet basic safety requirements. The council served a notice to the couple to resolve these, but warnings were ignored, the court heard. 

Robin Kirstein had admitted 13 offences at a hearing on 13 April 2021, including poor management of the property, lack of adequate waste facilities, lack of fire precautions and failure to provide information.  

Susan Kirstein admitted 17 offences on 22 July 2021, including poor management of the property, lack of adequate waste facilities, lack of fire precautions, failure to provide information, failure to carry out works to the property and failure to carry out drainage works to ensure sanitary conditions. 

 

Council inspections

The council first inspected the property on 14 July 2020 after a leaking soil pipe was causing raw sewage to pool outside the front of the home. This led to an outbreak of flies inside the property and maggots outside the front door. 

The court was also told that some areas of the building had no lighting, no heating and some doors had no handles. Some of the windows did not open, there was mould, stairs with no handrails and broken smoke alarms. 

A follow-up inspection in November of the same year showed nothing had improved. Instead, the situation had worsened. 

Another inspection took place on 10 March 2021 which showed improvement notices served by the council had not been complied with, despite there being a deadline to complete these by 1 January, two months prior. 

The court heard that council officers attempted to engage with the landlords during several visits to the property. The Kirsteins were asked to provide copies of their lease, tenancy agreements and details of the management arrangements for the property. Further requests were also made for gas and electrical certificates but this information was not provided, the court heard. 

At the court hearing, the pair were sentenced to a financial penalty of £17,000 and ordered to pay Hillingdon Council’s prosecution costs of over £10,000.  

Councillor Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s cabinet member for environment, housing and regeneration, said: “This couple showed scant regard for the welfare of tenants who should quite rightly have an expectation of living somewhere that meets decent standards.  

“This property not only fell well below that mark but was riddled with hazards and dangers that could have proved disastrous.  

“This sentencing serves as a warning to any rogue landlords that we’ll take tough measures to ensure homes in our borough are safe and suitable for the tenants.” 

District Judge Wright described the pair as “in way over their heads” and having “turned a blind eye to their responsibilities”, in part due to their poor financial management.  

Wright added: “You had a responsibility not to leave tenants in the property that wasn’t fit for human habitation.” 

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