Monsoon Properties pleaded guilty in May to breaches of the HMO management regulations 2006 and last week were ordered to pay £30,000 in fines, costs of £7,020 and a surcharge of £12,000.

The breaches (of regulations 4, 7 and 8 of the 2006 regulations) entailed fines of £10,000 per breach and covered issues including an "inadequate fire detection system, obstructions on the means of escape, defective fire doors, defective oven and hob and smashed wall tiles."

Camden Council says that separate enforcement action entailing financial penalty notices has been taken against the HMO licence holder as well as the letting agents for the property, Snayders Ltd.

The licence holder had failed to comply with several conditions of her HMO licence "including the failure to comply with the schedule of works required to ensure the property complies with Camden's minimum HMO standards." These failures included not displaying a copy of the HMO licence within the property, not maintaining the property in reasonable repair, failure to carry out fire safety works and failure to install wash hand basins and additional electrical sockets in the bedrooms.

The council is providing support to the tenants of the property and Cllr. Meric Apak, Cabinet Member for better Homes, said "This isn't the first time Monsoon Properties Limited have been prosecuted and they should know - as should all landlords and management companies in Camden - that we will not hesitate to take landlords who we suspect are breaking the law to court ...."

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