Company fined £22,000 for failing to fix issues at properties in Dagenham

Residents were living with a leaking roof in Dagenham (Credit: LBBD) 

The freeholders of a block of maisonettes in Dagenham have been ordered to pay more than £22,000 for failing to carry out repairs that left tenants living in “squalid and unsafe conditions”.

Proposed Company Limited did nothing to fix a leaking roof, a pigeon infestation and damp and mould at properties in Whalebone Lane South.

Residents had reported some of the problems to the company more than a decade ago but were completely ignored. They complained to Barking and Dagenham Council who sent inspectors to look at the homes.

A quarter of properties in the borough are privately rented (Credit: LBBD)

The council issued Proposed Company Limited with multiple abatement notices but when they were ignored they decided to take the freeholders to court.

Representatives from the company decided not to attend Barkingside Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 18 October and were found guilty in their absence. They were fined £22,000 with a further £150 costs and £190 victim surcharge.

Councillor Syed Ghani 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.

“Most private landlords play by the rules in Barking and Dagenham, but we will not tolerate tenants being exploited and when our officers outline failures we expect standards to be raised.”

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