"The whole ceiling would be black if we didn’t clean it"
Labour MP Jas Athwal rents out flats with black mould and ant infestations.
A BBC investigation found that the newly-elected MP for Ilford South owns 15 rental flats.
In one block of seven flats owned by Mr Athwal, nearly half the tenants said they had to regularly clean their bathroom ceilings to remove mould.
In addition to the black mould, there was also evidence of ant infestations in a number of the seven properties.
One resident said: “The ants are everywhere.
“They are on my kid’s body and on their clothes.”
Another resident said they had been threatened with eviction by the letting agent if they complained about problems in their flat or started claiming benefits.
The investigation found that the communal areas were dirty and the lights did not work.
Fire alarms were hanging loose from the ceiling, and a washing machine had been dumped next to a set of stairs.
One resident said: “The whole ceiling would be black if we didn’t clean it every few weeks.”
Andrew Boff, a Conservative member of the London Assembly who has also visited the flats, is calling on the Labour Party and Redbridge Council to investigate Mr Athwal.
He said: “I’m deeply concerned.
“I worry that there are people who are Jas Athwal’s tenants who are now frightened to speak for fear of being evicted.
“We’ve heard this time and time again about how the threat of eviction is used to excuse poor maintenance of properties.”
Calling for an investigation to be launched, he added:
“Here we have a situation where somebody who is the leader of Redbridge Council, which introduced a licensing scheme, which he told everybody else to sign up to, and he didn’t do it himself.”
Responding to the investigation, Mr Athwal said he was “shocked” to hear of the reported condition of his properties, adding that they were managed by an agency which did not communicate any problems back to him.
Defending himself, the Labour MP said:
“I am a renters champion. I’m proud to rent out homes with secure tenancies at below-market rents.”
“I want every one of my tenants to have excellent accommodation; I’m shocked at the reported condition of a number of the properties and have asked the managing agent for an explanation and immediate action to rectify any issues.
“I know it’s my responsibility to have issues addressed as soon as they arise and have met with the property management company to understand failures in communication.
“I’m profoundly sorry that tenants have been let down and will be reviewing the property management and how matters are escalated going forward.”
Mr Athwal also admitted his flats do not have the correct property licences required under a scheme he introduced as Redbridge Council leader.
He had earlier claimed that he had complied with the rules.
Meanwhile, Mr Boff feels Mr Athwal’s statement “sounds like bravado” and he would have respected him more if “he apologised to tenants for the poor service”.
Loading ...