Landlord ordered to pay £37k after housing 18 tenants in three-bed home converted into bedsits

A landlord has been ordered to pay £37,000 in fines and costs after he was found to be housing 18 tenants, including children and infants, in a home in Edgware originally built as a three-bedroom linked terrace house.

The property had been converted into eight bedsits and was being operated without a licence, Barnet Council said.

Following complaints from neighbours about noise, anti-social behaviour and overcrowding, inspectors from the local authority entered the property with a warrant, accompanied by the police.

According to Barnet, its officers found “extreme overcrowding with one room being shared by six people including infants and another room of only 7.8 square metres being occupied by two tenants”.

As well as being overcrowded the building did not to meet safety standards, had an inadequate fire alarm system, and no safe means of escape in case of fire. 

Officers also reported that the rear garden was filled with building waste, mattresses and other debris, that there was a kitchen in a separate structure in the garden, and there was disrepair throughout the property.

Landlord Charles Egbiremolen was found guilty at Willesden Magistrates Court on 25 November 2024 of nine offences including failing to licence the property, management and safety offences and failure to supply statutory information to the council. He was sentenced on 5 February 2025.

Barnet said that, subject to an individual assessment, any landlord prosecuted by the council and convicted by the courts is no longer likely to be considered to be a “fit and proper” person to manage a licensable HMO in the borough.

A  Barnet spokesperson said: "The safety of our residents is paramount and we will not tolerate landlords who flout the rules in Barnet. It is the responsibility of every landlord to make sure that their properties comply with the law and their tenants are safe. Landlords who fail to licence or manage their HMOs or let properties in a state of disrepair risk prosecution or penalty notices of up to £30,000 per offence”