Rogue landlord facing council action after illegal use of old police station
Enfield Council in North London discovered a former police HQ was being used to house people from other parts of the Capital.
A rogue landlord has been caught using an old police station to house homeless people.
Enfield Council in London served a formal notice on the landlord for unlawfully operating the former police station building in Southgate as a hostel.
After investigations lasting several weeks, the council confirmed a breach at the building in Chase Side.
Illegally advertised rentals
The building was not only illegally advertised for room rentals, but also housed tenants placed by homelessness teams from other London boroughs.
And the council has since contacted these local authorities, instructing them to stop placing any more tenants in the building.
Log Creation Ltd, the scheme’s planning agents, declined to comment when approached by the Enfield Dispatch.
Rejected planning
Plans submitted last year to convert the former Southgate Police Station into a 65-room hostel were rejected by the council amid fears that it would worsen antisocial behaviour in the area, the Dispatch reports.
There were strong objections from the Metropolitan Police and local councillors.
Susan Erbil, the council’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Regulatory Services, says: “This case demanded a significant amount of information and evidence to gain access and investigate the property.
The council is committed to taking all necessary steps to tackle rogue landlords who flout regulations.”
“This is just the beginning of a lengthy process. The council is committed to taking all necessary steps to tackle rogue landlords who flout regulations and provide substandard accommodation,” she says.
“Such practices are unacceptable, and we will always take justified and defensible enforcement action.”
Fire safety
The notice requires the owners to cease using the building as a hostel and remove all furniture and facilities within three months. The compliance period begins on 31 January, following the right of appeal.
The council’s Private Rented Housing Team is working with the London Fire Brigade to address fire safety issues identified in the building.
Given the massive demand for this type of accommodation, would it not have been wise to monitor any kind of antisocial behavior and if all is acceptable grant retrospective planning rather than having another empty building and more homelessness? I accept they have ignored the rules, but I just cannot suppress a little bit of admiration for the, absolutely no doubt, shady ‘landlord’ for seeing an opportunity.