Proposed Company Limited bought the maisonette flats in 1993 but had refused to carry out repairs that had been reported to them. Officers from Barking & Dagenham council's private sector housing team made several visits to the flats and ordered the freehold landlord to carry out repairs within a set period but were ignored.

The council then served abatement notices (under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) on the freeholder which were also ignored and it was after this that the council took legal action to prosecute the freeholder.

During their property inspections the council officers found a leaking roof, a pigeon infestation in the roof and damp and mould inside the flats. No representatives of the freeholder attended at the Magistrates Court hearing where the freeholder was found guilty.

Cllr. Sayed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, said "The owners of the building showed a flagrant disregard not just for the law but for the health and safety of the people forced to live in squalid and unsafe conditions caused by their greed" and added that he hoped the prosecution and fine would send a "strong message" to people who sought to prioritise profit over people.