One of the most extreme examples was witnessed in East Ham, Newham, where housing enforcement officers found 26 people living in a three-bed family home. It was one of the worst cases of illegal overcrowding seen in recent years.
Other examples of shocking overcrowding have been witnessed in Dagenham, Southall, Islington and other parts of London, as well as across the rest of the country.
The capital, in particular, has seen illegal overcrowding becoming a significant issue, with a lack of affordable housing, high rents and high house prices all contributing towards this.
In the case of the East Ham property, 25 adults and one child – from three or four different families – were being housed in a home fit for only seven people. Some seven tenants were found to be living in the property’s windowless cellar, accessed only by steep concrete steps.
What’s more, the home is also being investigated for a number of breaches of licensing conditions and a range of electrical and building hazards.
It’s not uncommon for overcrowded homes to have many other issues – on top of them being overcrowded – that help to make them barely habitable.
At Sandra Davidson, though, we’d never overcrowd your property with too many tenants in order to maximise rental income – any additional profit would be massively offset by the damage to your property, the potential fines and the failure to provide decent, safe and liveable accommodation.
Our guaranteed rent scheme ensures things are done the proper way. We make sure good practice is followed at all times to avoid incidents like the above becoming a reality.
We’ve been operating as a leading estate and letting agent in Redbridge since 1992, so we have the experience and knowledge to make the lettings process as smooth and hassle-free as possible.
As part of the guaranteed rent scheme – which ensures that rent is paid to you whether your property is occupied or empty – we will fully manage your rental home, carrying out monthly inspections to make sure that it is being kept to a high standard and conducting rigorous inventories at the start and end of tenancies.
Guaranteed rent doesn’t just give you peace of mind about the safety of your tenants and the good condition of your property, it also means that your net rent will be higher over time and all necessary legal costs will be completely covered.
We’ll also pay all utility bills and council tax on your behalf, while our customer care programme aims to get your property let for the best possible price, in as short a time as possible.
Our guaranteed rent scheme, which is based on 0% commission, will help to make your property top priority – it won’t be neglected or left to fall into disrepair.
While the shocking stories of illegal overcrowding still tend to be isolated incidents, it is becoming an increasing issue and therefore needs to be warded off in the strongest possible way.
Trusting us to look after your property as part of our Guaranteed Rent scheme is one way to make sure overcrowding isn’t an issue that bothers you.
For more information about what we offer, please get in touch with us on 0208 551 0211.
To find out about the Guaranteed Rent scheme in more detail, check out our previous blog here.
We also offer a free and instant lettings valuation tool to give you an idea of how much you could be charging in rent.
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