London, Aug 31: A newly elected British Sikh Labour Member of Parliament has defended his record as a landlord after UK media reports highlighted anonymous complaints from his tenants of being subjected to poor living conditions in properties owned by him.
Jas Athwal, elected to Parliament in last month’s general election from Ilford South constituency in east London, said he was “shocked” and “profoundly sorry” to hear of residents’ issues after the BBC reported on mould and ant infestations on Friday.
Athwal, 60, is said to own 15 rental flats and says he had not been aware of the issues due to the properties being managed by an agency. He has now promised that repairs and maintenance will be completed through immediate action.
“I am a renters champion. I’m proud to rent out homes with secure tenancies at below-market rents,” Athwal said in a detailed statement.
“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,” he said.
“I’m profoundly sorry that tenants have been let down and will be reviewing the property management and how matters are escalated going forward,” he added.
Athwal, previously a local politician as leader of Redbridge Council, is also required to have a selective property licence in order to rent out a block of seven flats – a system he introduced in 2017 when he was in charge of the council.
However, the BBC found the council’s public licence register indicated that none of the seven properties had a licence. Athwal admitted that he had “recently seen an email” which said the licences were due to expire.
He added: “I am in the process of renewing all licences. As council leader I implemented the most rigorous landlord licencing scheme in London in 2017, and expanded the scheme in 2023 and 2024 – the scheme would’ve been even stronger if Conservative housing secretaries had not repeatedly watered it down.
“In 2019, I led a campaign calling on the government to abolish Section 21 evictions, further protecting tenants’ rights, which was again blocked by the Conservatives.”
According to the BBC investigation, in one block of seven flats owned by Athwal nearly half the tenants said they had to regularly clean their bathroom ceilings to remove mould.
The news corporation said it also saw evidence of ant infestations in a number of the seven properties.
Andrew Boff, a Conservative member of the London Assembly who also visited the flats, is calling on the governing Labour Party and local Redbridge Council to investigate as the party’s 2024 general election manifesto included a commitment to “prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against”. (PTI)
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