£3k fine dished out to landlord for renting out without safeguarding licence

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

A landlord and letting agent have been fined more than £3,000 after illegally renting out a property.

Landlord Rashidat Adebukola Edekunle-Mohammed and agent Tunde Coker, of Alpha Property Services, let out the Camberwell house to a family, despite not having a licence to do so.

Southwark council has required properties rented out in Camberwell Green to be licensed since November 2023 in a bid to drive up the quality of rented accommodation. The property licences cost £900 and usually last for five years.

Edekunle-Mohammed was ordered to pay £1,128, while Coker was fined £2,256 at a hearing at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Monday, after pleading guilty.

Officials became aware of the property on Havil Street in Camberwell when a family living in the house reported faulty heating to the council. Staff from the local authority investigated and found out the property fell within one of the council’s selective licensing areas but was being rented out without a licence.

Both Edekunle-Mohammed and Coker had been informed the house required one previously.

Privately rented properties in 19 wards across Southwark require a licence to be rented out. The areas covered by the selective licensing scheme are: Champion Hill, Newington, Faraday, Goose Green, St Giles, North Walworth, Nunhead and Queens Road, the Old Kent Road, Peckham, Camberwell Green, Chaucer, Dulwich Hill, Dulwich Wood, London Bridge and West Bermondsey, Peckham Rye, Rotherhithe, Rye Lane, South Bermondsey and Surrey Docks.

Councillor Natasha Ennin, cabinet member for community safety and neighbourhoods, said: “This case demonstrates our commitment to holding landlords and letting agents accountable when they fail to meet their legal obligations.

“Licensing ensures that rented properties in Southwark are safe and well-maintained for our residents. We will continue to take action against those who put tenants at risk and encourage residents to report unscrupulous landlords.”

Pictured top: Southwark council HQ on Tooley Street (Picture: Google Street View)