A landlord renting out unsafe homes has been slapped with a £24,000 fine.

Mr Huseyin Ustek, 53, of Enfield, North London had the management of his properties taken over by Waltham Forest Council after he was deemed not to be a “fit and proper person” to hold a property licence in the borough.

Tenants’ rent will now be paid to the council and used to fund repairs to bring the property up to a reasonable standard until an appropriate managing agent can be appointed.

When council inspectors visited the properties in November 2017 they found serious hazards including the absence of a proper heating system, defective electrical sockets, inadequate and substandard fire alarms, and windows in a state of serious disrepair.

Another home owned by Mr Ustek, on Flempton Road, was not licensed under the council’s private rented property licensing scheme.

The council served Mr. Ustek with two fines of £12,000 each for failing to comply with repairs needed July 3 2018 and took possession of all his properties after he failed to appoint a suitable third party to manage them.

At a hearing at the Property Tribunal in early 2019 Mr Ustek claimed he had been out of the country and had not received the Improvement Notices or notification of the fines.

He also attempted to shift blame onto the tenants, saying they had not paid rent for six months and that he had started repossession proceedings, a claim that was found to be untrue at the hearing.

Dismissing Mr Ustek’s appeal and confirming the fines imposed, the Property Tribunal said the council had taken “all necessary steps to ensure receipt of the notices of intention, improvement, and financial penalty.”

Cllr Louise Mitchell, cabinet member for housing, said: “A landlord cannot attempt to hide behind claims they have not received notices when improvements are required.

“If he claimed not to receive notices from the council via email or post, how would his tenants reach him in the case of an emergency? A landlord who cannot be reached in an emergency, who lets their properties dangerously deteriorate, and who ignores notices cannot possibly be considered a fit and proper person to hold a property licence in Waltham Forest.

“Landlords have a responsibility to tenants to provide a safe and clean property which provides a decent roof over their heads. A responsible landlord will be happy to meet these requirements. But we will act with the full force of the law against those who – through incompetence, recklessness, or sheer laziness – are not prepared to meet them and endanger their tenants.”

The council is also legally obliged to publish a register of licensed rental properties. You can see the register by visiting this page.