Developer Quintain has sold its minority stake in the Greenwich Peninsula regeneration scheme to its joint-venture partner Knight Dragon in a deal which will ensure the delivery of approximately 10,000 new homes on the 147 acre site.
Commenting on the deal, Sammy Lee, Director of Knight Dragon said:
“Greenwich Peninsula represents a unique opportunity to deliver one of the largest regeneration schemes in Europe and Knight Dragon is fully committed to delivering this landmark development for London, creating thousands of new jobs, new homes and a community where people will want to live.” “Our joint venture with Quintain has achieved a great deal over the past 16 months. We are now looking forward to building on the momentum which has been created.”
Full disclosure: Knight Dragon is a client of mine.
Mayor calls in Convoys Wharf
Hutchison Whampoa lost patience with the local authority, accusing it of making “unreasonable and unwarranted” demands and of pushing the scheme’s viability “to its limits”.
It wrote to the GLA in October, just a week after its executive director, Edmond Ho, sent a letter to the head of planning at Lewisham expressing his frustration.
“After more than five years, firstly with our previous masterplanners Aedas and then with Farrells, we simply cannot comprehend how you can now choose to prolong the decision process further,” Ho said. “We fail to see any justification for such a major strategic project suffering further unnecessary delay.”
This week Johnson, whose design advisers include Terry Farrell himself, agreed to take over as planning authority for the 3,500-home scheme which will see three towers built on the site of Henry VIII’s naval dockyard and Sayes Court, the home of 17th-century diarist and gardener John Evelyn.
He praised Lewisham’s recent record on housing but said: “In this particular case the planning history over the long term and particularly over the past year or so indicate that the breakdown in relationship between the council and the applicant is such that I am not satisfied that you will be able to reach a timely planning determination in respect of the current planning application for this important site.”
Opponents of the scheme are right to criticise its lack of respect for the site's history and the worryingly poor transport access to the site, but this saga has dragged on for an inordinate amount of time - meanwhile, lack of housing supply in London pushes prices higher and higher.
The Great Inversion
Last month, we posted a map showing how house prices have changed in London the last three years, with Lewisham among an inner core of London boroughs which rose while outer boroughs stagnated. It's one expression of a phenomenon that US demographer Alan Ehrenhalt calls 'The Great Inversion'.
“The late 20th century,” he writes, “was the age of poor inner cities and wealthy suburbs; the 21st century is emerging as an age of affluent inner neighborhoods and immigrants settling on the outside.”
The Economist used the book's title to describe what's happening to London, as illustrated by this map from Savills, which shows the socio-economic changes that have taken place in London between the 2001 and 2011 censuses. Areas in red have moved "upmarket", areas in blue have done the reverse. There are actually two great inversions going on here. Firstly, inner London is rapidly catching up with the outer suburbs in terms of wealth and status. Secondly, London is flipping on its axis, as job creation (see map below) in places like Shoreditch, London Bridge and Canary Wharf fuels the ascendancy of East London:
The Economist explains:
The places that have gone downmarket are in Metroland—the 1920s and 1930s railway suburbs stretching west of Acton and Willesden or around Ilford. These are the middle-class suburbs where commuters move when they have children. But of late, house prices in those parts of suburban London have stagnated, even as inner-London ones have soared ahead. In recent years, the outflow of people to the Home Counties has not been matched by the inflow from inner-London, and so population increases have been sustained by immigration and births...
It attributes this change to three big shifts:
1. Jobs are becoming more focused in central London "at the expense of out-of-town office parks, which look increasingly dilapidated." [Lewisham's lack of job creation is not a unique phenomenon].
2. People are marrying and having kids later, meaning that city-centre lifestyles suit them better for longer. "Today’s 20-somethings are more likely to be university educated and less likely to drive, which makes offices that can be reached quickly by bike, bus or train far more desirable."
3. Structural changes, including falling crime, less pollution and better schools are encouraging families to stay put too, while "gentrification proves self-reinforcing, as new restaurants, bars and other businesses open to serve—and employ—gentrifiers."
So while Lewisham once braced itself for an influx of urban poor, priced out of central London, it seems likely that those people will move further out and our borough might face a very different kind of housing policy choice. The Economist concludes:
In some places, borough councils may be tempted to leverage high property prices to generate cash to redevelop their more run-down parts—turning over their social housing stock to private developers. That however smacks just a little of social cleansing. At the moment, complaints about gentrification in London tends to be limited to carping about the silliness of hipster bars, or the cost of a burger in Brixton village*. But... the politics of gentrification in London could eventually become quite tetchy.
*See all arguments about gentrification on Brockley Central ever.
“The late 20th century,” he writes, “was the age of poor inner cities and wealthy suburbs; the 21st century is emerging as an age of affluent inner neighborhoods and immigrants settling on the outside.”
It attributes this change to three big shifts:
1. Jobs are becoming more focused in central London "at the expense of out-of-town office parks, which look increasingly dilapidated." [Lewisham's lack of job creation is not a unique phenomenon].
2. People are marrying and having kids later, meaning that city-centre lifestyles suit them better for longer. "Today’s 20-somethings are more likely to be university educated and less likely to drive, which makes offices that can be reached quickly by bike, bus or train far more desirable."
3. Structural changes, including falling crime, less pollution and better schools are encouraging families to stay put too, while "gentrification proves self-reinforcing, as new restaurants, bars and other businesses open to serve—and employ—gentrifiers."
So while Lewisham once braced itself for an influx of urban poor, priced out of central London, it seems likely that those people will move further out and our borough might face a very different kind of housing policy choice. The Economist concludes:
In some places, borough councils may be tempted to leverage high property prices to generate cash to redevelop their more run-down parts—turning over their social housing stock to private developers. That however smacks just a little of social cleansing. At the moment, complaints about gentrification in London tends to be limited to carping about the silliness of hipster bars, or the cost of a burger in Brixton village*. But... the politics of gentrification in London could eventually become quite tetchy.
*See all arguments about gentrification on Brockley Central ever.
Lewisham house prices rise with inner core
It's a phenomenon discussed by Ben Rogers in The FT, who argues that we need to adapt by creating dense new urban centres beyond Zone 1:
We should raise our ambitions for areas beyond central London and create new places in the spirit of the West End. The Olympic Park, for which five new residential neighbourhoods are planned, presents a fantastic opportunity. It is well connected to central London and beautifully landscaped...
We should be looking at intensifying the suburbs, which account for three-quarters of London’s footprint but fewer than half of its homes. Doubling the density of just 12 per cent of this footprint would meet London’s requirement for 400,000 new homes in the next 20 years.
As you can see from this map, population density in Brockley and Lewisham hardly changed at all between 2001-11 and remains comparatively low for inner London. The employment density map also confirms that South East London is a jobs desert. If we are to create 'new West Ends', the jobs will need to come too. Whether jobs are a cause or effect of greater density is an interesting question.
Cedar Mews
The Cedar Mews apartments on Geoffrey Road are finally complete and ready for appraisal. The development extends behind these tall maisonettes with a single-floor building, in which neighbours face each other.
The architecture is in stark contrast to Malpas Mews, another recent development, at the other end of Geoffrey Road. So what do you think of this design and which do you prefer for Brockley - modern or pastiche?
The Brockley Barn for sale
Alastair spotted this Arabin Road property featured in the Standard's Unusual Homes [for sale] feature today. They say:
This unique, secluded home in the heart of Brockley was built around 1875 and was originally used as horse stables, and more recently as a car dealership. The property was granted residential status in 2000 and was transformed into one of London's most unique homes. Ashby Mews studios approved
The plans, which will create two new two-storey homes and studio spaces along a cratered stretch of mews, had met some opposition from local residents, concerned about their gardens being overlooked. However, sympathetic development of Brockley's mews is the right way forward.
This scheme is of high-quality and should prevent the mews being treated as a dumping ground, as well as providing new homes and space for local enterprise.
Birds Dress Agency up for sale
Adjoining two storey mid terrace property comprising an inter-communicating vintage clothes shops on the ground floor level with a self-contained entrance to the upper parts. There is a garden at the rear of the two buildings and there is also rear access to the properties via Shardeloes Road. The upper parts comprise 2 self-contained 1 bedroom apartments.
Lewisham one of top boroughs for new homes
The Evening Standard reports that boroughs in central south and east London will accommodate the majority of new homes built in the capital in the next decade:
A building spree in six inner-city boroughs — Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Newham and Wandsworth — will account for almost 60 per cent of the 278,000 new homes planned for London during the next decade.
Analysis [by estate agents Knight Frank] of the capital’s “development pipeline” reveals likely hotspots and provides valuable research for home buyers, and for investors hoping to buy the right property in the best investment area. And as the population growth in those six boroughs is predicted to be among the highest in London, demand for housing is set to generate prices rises in these areas.
Following the recent news that the Royal Docks will be regenerated as a centre for Chinese businesses in the capital, this is more evidence that London's centre of gravity is moving inexorably eastwards. The increase in housing brings with it its own challenges, but more homes mean more people, mean more life, energy, variety and employment in the area.
A building spree in six inner-city boroughs — Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Newham and Wandsworth — will account for almost 60 per cent of the 278,000 new homes planned for London during the next decade.
Analysis [by estate agents Knight Frank] of the capital’s “development pipeline” reveals likely hotspots and provides valuable research for home buyers, and for investors hoping to buy the right property in the best investment area. And as the population growth in those six boroughs is predicted to be among the highest in London, demand for housing is set to generate prices rises in these areas.
Following the recent news that the Royal Docks will be regenerated as a centre for Chinese businesses in the capital, this is more evidence that London's centre of gravity is moving inexorably eastwards. The increase in housing brings with it its own challenges, but more homes mean more people, mean more life, energy, variety and employment in the area.
New Manwood Road housing planned
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| The planned terrace |
More planned infill of brown field sites in the area. An application has been submitted to replace a Crofton Park garage with new housing, which in principle is a good swap.
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| The site currently occupied by garages |
The application proposes:
With thanks to a BCer who asked not to be named but thinks they are too pokey.
Musings of Chancel
On the Brockley forum, JCambridge has raised an issue which we'd never heard about before and deserves wider attention:
We are currently buying a property in Brockley and have been informed by our Solicitor it is in an area that potentially be subject to Chancel Repair Liability. This is where a local church can force you to pay for repairs, however you have to pay full a full search to find out what church it relates to and whether you are indeed liable.
Has anyone paid for a search and what was the findings? It usually relates to Medieval Churches and having researched I suspect it could relate to the Premonstratensian Abbey in Brockley that was once on the site of the current St Peters church.
We are currently buying a property in Brockley and have been informed by our Solicitor it is in an area that potentially be subject to Chancel Repair Liability. This is where a local church can force you to pay for repairs, however you have to pay full a full search to find out what church it relates to and whether you are indeed liable.
Has anyone paid for a search and what was the findings? It usually relates to Medieval Churches and having researched I suspect it could relate to the Premonstratensian Abbey in Brockley that was once on the site of the current St Peters church.
Catford Dogs Homes get go ahead
The Mayor of London's office announces:
More than a thousand jobs and 500 new homes will be created in Lewisham through the redevelopment of the former Catford Greyhound Stadium, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced today.
The £117m redevelopment will bring 589 new homes to the 4.7 hectare site in the heart of Lewisham under a deal reached between the Mayor and developer Barratt London [the developers of "Renaissance Lewisham" and a client of BC's employers]. When finished, this will include 113 affordable rent properties which will be managed by Gallions Housing Association, 60 shared ownership properties and 416 properties for private ownership.
More than a thousand jobs and 500 new homes will be created in Lewisham through the redevelopment of the former Catford Greyhound Stadium, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced today.
The £117m redevelopment will bring 589 new homes to the 4.7 hectare site in the heart of Lewisham under a deal reached between the Mayor and developer Barratt London [the developers of "Renaissance Lewisham" and a client of BC's employers]. When finished, this will include 113 affordable rent properties which will be managed by Gallions Housing Association, 60 shared ownership properties and 416 properties for private ownership.
The publicly owned stadium has been released by the Mayor as part of his drive to unlock development on public sector owned land in order to increase housing supply for hard working Londoners and boost jobs and growth. It is amongst the first tranche of sites released by the Greater London Authority since it became one of the capital’s largest public land owners last year.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “London’s unbeatable allure means unprecedented demand for housing, and making public land available for development has a big part to play in meeting this. The transformation of Catford Dogs, which for the last decade has been left empty and unused, will not only bring hundreds of new homes to the heart of London, but will feed into the wider regeneration of Catford Town Centre making it an even better place to live and injecting a healthy new dose of jobs and growth into one of the capital’s key opportunity areas.”
The former dog track sits between two key transport hubs, Catford Bridge and Catford railway station, and when complete will also boast 508 sq m of retail space, 298 sq m of community space as well as landscaped links through the site to Ladywell Fields and Catford Town Centre. Work is expected to begin by early 2014 and the project is expected to be complete by 2017.
Alastair Baird, Barratt London Regional Managing Director, added: “'We are delighted to be working with the Mayor on this exciting project. This is the fifth site we have secured in the capital in the last six months, bringing a total of 1,800 new homes to London. The site at Catford will add to our already significant presence in the Borough of Lewisham, with our redevelopment of the town centre – Renaissance – which will provide a total of 788 new homes together with a new leisure centre due to open shortly.”
The transformation of Catford Stadium, which has been unused for the last ten years and sits within one of London’s key opportunity areas and will provide a major catalyst for future regeneration potential in Catford Town Centre. Lewisham Council have outlined a number of redevelopment opportunities including the redevelopment of Catford Shopping Centre and plans to work with TfL to improve the transport network in the town centre.
Deputy Mayor of Lewisham and Cabinet Member for Regeneration Cllr Alan Smith says: “It is very good news for Catford that this site is finally to be developed. The additional homes and jobs will be very welcome in this part of Lewisham, and the development will sit well alongside our own plans for the rebuilding and improvement of Catford Town Centre.”
Barratt London is among the 25 developers announced last week to sit on the Mayor’s brand new land procurement group, the London Development Panel, which has been set up to accelerate the delivery of housing in London by making it faster, easier and cheaper for public land owners to bring forward land for development.
The former Catford Greyhound Stadium site was transferred to the GLA from the HCA as part of the devolution of power to the Mayor under the Localism Act 2011. The land was acquired by English Partnerships, a predecessor body of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), in March 2004 from Network Rail and the National Greyhound Association.
Build your Ladywell dream house
Muriel Blandings: I refuse to endanger the lives of my children in a house with less than four bathrooms.
Jim Blandings: For 1,300 dollars they can live in a house with three bathrooms and ROUGH IT.
- Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House
Ladywell's Church Grove, which was once earmarked to become a Traveller site has now been allocated for use by people who want to build their own homes. Lewisham Council says:
As part of the first ever National Self Build Week (4-12 May 2013), Lewisham Council is offering residents a rare opportunity to build their own home.
The Council is re-introducing its self-build scheme as a further step towards meeting the growing demand for social housing in the borough and to provide new skills for unemployed local people.
A site has been identified off Church Grove in Ladywell and should provide up to 16 new homes by 2016.
The initiative will be supported by the National Self Build Association and run in partnership with an experienced house builder.
The scheme has been designed for people on Lewisham’s housing waiting list who want to develop their skills in house building trades such as electrical, carpentry, plumbing and bricklaying – and who also want to build their own home.
In addition to gaining a new home, residents will acquire new skills to help them access future employment opportunities.
Councillor Susan Wise, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, said: “Everyone recognises that London has a real shortage of housing but Lewisham Council is exploring a whole range of ways to support the needs of local residents.
“We were the first in the country to experiment with self-build projects, so we know we can make this work. Self-build is part of a package of measures we’re taking and this will provide not only much needed homes but skills to give local people the opportunity for future employment.”
The Council already has a successful scheme in Honor Oak Park which completed in the 1980s. It was the first project of its kind in the UK and gave rise to similar projects around the country.
Applicants need to be a Lewisham resident and be on the Lewisham housing waiting list. For more information and to register your interest email housing.matters@lewisham.gov.uk or call 020 8314 9163.
Jim Blandings: For 1,300 dollars they can live in a house with three bathrooms and ROUGH IT.
- Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House
Ladywell's Church Grove, which was once earmarked to become a Traveller site has now been allocated for use by people who want to build their own homes. Lewisham Council says:
As part of the first ever National Self Build Week (4-12 May 2013), Lewisham Council is offering residents a rare opportunity to build their own home.
The Council is re-introducing its self-build scheme as a further step towards meeting the growing demand for social housing in the borough and to provide new skills for unemployed local people.
A site has been identified off Church Grove in Ladywell and should provide up to 16 new homes by 2016.
The initiative will be supported by the National Self Build Association and run in partnership with an experienced house builder.
The scheme has been designed for people on Lewisham’s housing waiting list who want to develop their skills in house building trades such as electrical, carpentry, plumbing and bricklaying – and who also want to build their own home.
In addition to gaining a new home, residents will acquire new skills to help them access future employment opportunities.
Councillor Susan Wise, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, said: “Everyone recognises that London has a real shortage of housing but Lewisham Council is exploring a whole range of ways to support the needs of local residents.
“We were the first in the country to experiment with self-build projects, so we know we can make this work. Self-build is part of a package of measures we’re taking and this will provide not only much needed homes but skills to give local people the opportunity for future employment.”
The Council already has a successful scheme in Honor Oak Park which completed in the 1980s. It was the first project of its kind in the UK and gave rise to similar projects around the country.
Applicants need to be a Lewisham resident and be on the Lewisham housing waiting list. For more information and to register your interest email housing.matters@lewisham.gov.uk or call 020 8314 9163.
Faircharm Workspace approved
148 new homes will also be built as part of the redevelopment.
Lewisham Gateway construction could begin this summer
Towers A1 and A2 are located at the north west corner of the Lewisham Gateway site, nearest Lewisham Station. Developers Taylor Wimpey and Mace submitted the plans in February Lewisham Gateway and aim to "provide a total of 193 residential units (comprising 18 studio units, 97 one-bedroom units, 74 two-bedroom units and 4 three-bedroom units) and 518 sqm (GEA) of retail/restaurant/cafe floorspace (Use Class A1 and/or A3)), as well as open space (including ‘Confluence Place’), public realm and related works.”
The much-delayed project will replace the roundabout near the station and divert vehicles around a new system, which is expected to slow traffic through the centre of Lewisham.
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| The new traffic system. The buildings will sit in the top-left corner. |
Empty properties in Brockley
At a time of rising rents in Brockley, it's exasperating to learn that local homes are being left empty. A BCer who wishes to remain anonymous writes:
We have had for several years now an empty flat in our building (a Victorian conversion with few flats). We're worried about lots of issues - loss of heat, the risk of someone breaking in and problems with condition of the building have all been concerns for us and the other people that live in the for a long time.
We are in touch with the council and they are helping us trying to get the issue sorted. Fortunately the council is being really helpful and supporting us on trying to get the flat occupied. We are not pushing the owners to sell it, but wouldn't it be nice for all of us if they could rent it out? They get a lovely income and we get neighbours!
Anyway I am just wondering if this is an issue that is present elsewhere, or if it is just us being unlucky. Have people seen many empty properties in the area and has anyone been through the same experience with a landlord and the council?
I would love to hear from people in the area, whether this is a one off or something that concerns us all?
We have had for several years now an empty flat in our building (a Victorian conversion with few flats). We're worried about lots of issues - loss of heat, the risk of someone breaking in and problems with condition of the building have all been concerns for us and the other people that live in the for a long time.
We are in touch with the council and they are helping us trying to get the issue sorted. Fortunately the council is being really helpful and supporting us on trying to get the flat occupied. We are not pushing the owners to sell it, but wouldn't it be nice for all of us if they could rent it out? They get a lovely income and we get neighbours!
Anyway I am just wondering if this is an issue that is present elsewhere, or if it is just us being unlucky. Have people seen many empty properties in the area and has anyone been through the same experience with a landlord and the council?
I would love to hear from people in the area, whether this is a one off or something that concerns us all?
Lewisham house price rises
The BBC reports that over the year to December 2012, Lewisham experienced the sixth-fastest rise in house prices of the 33 London boroughs. The 11.9% rise occurred despite a 1.6% fall in the last quarter and was driven mainly by large increases in house prices, rather than modest increases in the price of flats.
There are so many house price indices, which tell so many conflicting stories, that it's tempting to discount all of them. However, it's been a while since we featured one, so here we are...
The table underlines a long-term London trend, which is the re-population of inner London by people on higher incomes after decades of decline until the 1980s. Looking down the table, there is a clear divide between the inner boroughs, which have mostly experienced large price rises, and the outer boroughs, where price rises have mostly been in the low single-digits. Ranking the boroughs by annual increases, the lowest-placed inner borough is Tower Hamlets at 22. Only two outer boroughs (Brent and Ealing) make the top ten.
After decades of flight to the suburbs and the home counties, the middle classes have rediscovered the advantages and pleasures of urbanity, while super-prime buyers in Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster and Camden have led urbanites with money to look at other inner London locations.
Lewisham is still among the cheapest boroughs in London (26th most expensive average price out of 33), but nowhere in inner London will be cheap by the next decade.
With thanks to Monkeyboy.
There are so many house price indices, which tell so many conflicting stories, that it's tempting to discount all of them. However, it's been a while since we featured one, so here we are...
The table underlines a long-term London trend, which is the re-population of inner London by people on higher incomes after decades of decline until the 1980s. Looking down the table, there is a clear divide between the inner boroughs, which have mostly experienced large price rises, and the outer boroughs, where price rises have mostly been in the low single-digits. Ranking the boroughs by annual increases, the lowest-placed inner borough is Tower Hamlets at 22. Only two outer boroughs (Brent and Ealing) make the top ten.
After decades of flight to the suburbs and the home counties, the middle classes have rediscovered the advantages and pleasures of urbanity, while super-prime buyers in Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster and Camden have led urbanites with money to look at other inner London locations.
Lewisham is still among the cheapest boroughs in London (26th most expensive average price out of 33), but nowhere in inner London will be cheap by the next decade.
With thanks to Monkeyboy.
Deptford and the Waitrose effect
The imminent arrival of Waitrose (admittedly a rare thing in South East London) has forced the paper urgently to reappraise its view of the area, which we've been saying for a long time is already one of the best things about this part of the city. Suggesting that Waitrose confers "retail respectability" on a place that boasts a great market and dozens of interesting independent shops and businesses is pretty irritating, but it's nice to see namechecks for the Deptford X, Bearspace Gallery, the Albany Theatre and the Deptford Dame, among others.
With Workspace and Cathedral Group planning major redevelopments of Deptford's core and further improvements to the high street due soon, expect many more of these sorts of articles to follow.
Brockley's "Invisible House"
Last year Kevin and Mac approached us to look into the possibility of realising their dream to build upon a small plot of land with derelict garages they jointed owned in leafy Brockley. The site historically occupied by a coach house for the grandiose homes of the local dock owners was certainly challenging. Positioned on a prominent corner within a conservation area and Flanked on either side by communal gardens full of mature trees the scheme required some lateral thinking!
The scheme proposes a subterranean basement complete with sunken garden and contextual brickwork storey at street level house the bedrooms. At first floor a high reflective glass ‘mirror box’ camouflages the living accommodation and a roof terrace completes the scheme.
The scheme itself has been designed with Sustainability in mind from the outset, a ‘super insulated’ air tight structure will aspire to meet the principles of ‘passivhaus’, whereas a wood chip burner and photovoltiacs will seek to utilise renewable energy sources for heat and power.
Located opposite the nearly-finished Cedar Mews development, it offers a similarly sensitive approach to building modern, ambitious high-density housing in the middle of a conservation area, without resorting to pastiche. They hope to secure planning permission by the summer.
Rogue Brockley landlord fined for stuffing property
Lewisham Council reports (via Cllr Foxcroft):
An unlicensed landlord has been prosecuted by Lewisham Council for failing to comply with House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) regulations.
The prosecution was brought against Mustafa Kemal Mustafa who did not apply for an HMO licence on a property in Millmark Grove, Brockley.
An inspection of the property revealed at least ten people living at the address, sharing an unfinished kitchen, bathrooms and occupying rooms not deemed large enough for the number of occupants. Unrelated tenants were also found to be sharing rooms.
Mr Mustafa maintained that the property was being used as a hostel providing temporary emergency accommodation. Despite pleading not guilty, Mr Mustafa of Briar Lane, West Wickham was convicted at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on 26 February and fined £7,500 for contravening section 72(1) of the Housing Act 2004 (committing an offence for failing to licence a house in multiple occupation). He was also ordered to pay £925 costs.
Councillor Susan Wise, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, said: "This prosecution will serve as a warning to unscrupulous landlords who fail to ensure their properties conform to legal requirements. The Council will bring them to book to protect the health, safety and welfare of tenants living in private rented accommodation."
Private landlords can find out more about their legal responsibilities, licensing and HMO standards – visit www.lewisham.gov.uk and search for ’HMO’, or contact the Lewisham Council Environmental Health Team on 020 8314 6420.
An unlicensed landlord has been prosecuted by Lewisham Council for failing to comply with House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) regulations.
The prosecution was brought against Mustafa Kemal Mustafa who did not apply for an HMO licence on a property in Millmark Grove, Brockley.
An inspection of the property revealed at least ten people living at the address, sharing an unfinished kitchen, bathrooms and occupying rooms not deemed large enough for the number of occupants. Unrelated tenants were also found to be sharing rooms.
Mr Mustafa maintained that the property was being used as a hostel providing temporary emergency accommodation. Despite pleading not guilty, Mr Mustafa of Briar Lane, West Wickham was convicted at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on 26 February and fined £7,500 for contravening section 72(1) of the Housing Act 2004 (committing an offence for failing to licence a house in multiple occupation). He was also ordered to pay £925 costs.
Councillor Susan Wise, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, said: "This prosecution will serve as a warning to unscrupulous landlords who fail to ensure their properties conform to legal requirements. The Council will bring them to book to protect the health, safety and welfare of tenants living in private rented accommodation."
Private landlords can find out more about their legal responsibilities, licensing and HMO standards – visit www.lewisham.gov.uk and search for ’HMO’, or contact the Lewisham Council Environmental Health Team on 020 8314 6420.
