Landlord rents room that can only be accessed by crawling
08-23-2014
The room in North London was being rented to a couple for £420 a month despite having a staircase that measured as little as two feet and three inches in places.
The top floor bedroom in a house Hendon, North London, was being let to a couple for £420 a month
The top floor bedroom in a house Hendon, North London, was being let to a couple for £420 a month Photo: SWNS
By South West News Service
A landlord who rented a room that could only be accessed by tenants by crawling on their hands and knees has been fined.
The top floor bedroom in a house Hendon, North London, was being let to a couple for £420 a month.
However, in order to get into the room, the couple had to make their way up a staircase that required them to squeeze through spaces just just two feet and three inches and three feet and 11 inches high.
Yaakov Marom was issued with a prohibition order banning him from letting the top floor bedroom after inspectors found it could only be entered by crawling up the stairs before passing through a small door.
Marom failed to comply with the order and officers from Barnet Council discovered he was letting the room.
The authority's Environmental Health Team found the low ceiling above the staircase and small entrance hatch made it impossible for tenants to reach the room while standing upright.
Marom pleaded guilty to failure to comply with the prohibition order at Willesden Magistrates' Court.
He was fined £1,500 fine and ordered to pay £1,420 in costs and a victim surcharge of £120.
The height along the course of the staircase was between 0.7m and 1.2m high (SWNS)
Councillor Tom Davey, chairman of the Housing Committee, said: "At the very least tenants have the right to expect that the accommodation they are renting is safe.
"Barnet Council is keen to work with landlords and help them to provide safe accommodation.
"However, those who exploit tenants for financial gain will not be tolerated and the appropriate action will be taken."
Last year, Barnet Council investigated over 970 reports of poor conditions in the borough.