Labour MP’s tenants reveal state of flats

A Labour MP rents out flats with black mould and ant infestations, the BBC has discovered.

Jas Athwal, the newly-elected MP for Ilford South, owns 15 rental flats, making him the biggest landlord in the House of Commons.

In one block of seven flats owned by Mr Athwal nearly half the tenants said they had to regularly clean their bathroom ceilings to remove mould.

The BBC also saw evidence of ant infestations in a number of the seven properties.

“The ants are everywhere,” one resident said, pointing to insects climbing up a door frame. “They are on my kid’s body and on their clothes.”

Another resident said they had been threatened with eviction by the letting agent if they complained about problems in their flat or started claiming benefits.

Mr Athwal said the properties were managed by an agency, he had not been aware of these problems, and denied any tenant had been threatened with eviction.

He said he did not take on tenants on housing benefit to avoid conflicts of interest with his role as the local council leader.

He described himself as a “renters’ champion”.

In 2018 Mr Athwal, who led Redbridge Council from 2014 until he became an MP last month, shared an article about a local landlord being fined by the council, writing: “Rogue landlords, we are coming for you.”

But Andrew Boff, a Conservative member of the London Assembly who has also visited the flats, is calling on the Labour Party and Redbridge Council to investigate.

According to the Redbridge Council website Mr Athwal requires a selective property licence in order to rent out the block of seven properties, a system he introduced in December as the leader of the council.

A search on the council’s public licence register indicates that none of the seven properties has a licence. The BBC has separately seen evidence suggesting that one of the seven properties does not have a licence.

We have also asked Redbridge Council to confirm this information. They had not responded at the time of publication.

Mr Athwal stood down from his role as council leader last month after being elected to Parliament. He said he is in “full compliance” with the landlord licensing scheme.

When I visited the properties, which are above an empty shop in Ilford, the communal areas were dirty and the lights did not work.

Fire alarms were hanging loose from the ceiling, and a washing machine had been dumped next to a set of stairs.

One resident showed me black mould growing on their bathroom ceiling, adding that a family member is a “clean freak” who keeps scrubbing the area with bleach to keep the mould at bay.

Another said they had googled black mould and realised it could be toxic.

“The whole ceiling would be black if we didn’t clean it every few weeks,” they said.

I knocked on every door and spoke to most of the tenants. None wanted their name to be used. Some specifically said this was due to a fear of being evicted.

“Please don’t use my name,” said a resident. “Finding a new flat is very difficult.”

Most of the people I spoke to said Mr Athwal and his property manager were slow to respond to complaints or were completely unresponsive.

While I was at the block, the property manager was tipped off about my visit and tenants started to get calls from him. After receiving these calls they became hesitant about talking to me. This appeared to me to be intimidation.

One resident who had spoken on camera about problems with their flat later asked that we not use the interview and another asked me not to use images of the mould two days after allowing me to take pictures of it.

Labour’s 2024 general election manifesto included a commitment to “prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against”.

“I’m deeply concerned,” said Conservative Andrew Boff, who has also visited the flats, spoken to residents and took pictures of the mould.

“I worry that there are people who are Jas Athwal’s tenants who are now frightened to speak for fear of being evicted.”

“We’ve heard this time and time again about how the threat of eviction is used to excuse poor maintenance of properties,” he added.

He has called for the Labour Party and Redbridge Council to investigate Mr Athwal.

“Here we have a situation where somebody who is the leader of Redbridge Council, which introduced a licensing scheme, which he told everybody else to sign up to, and he didn’t do it himself,” he said.

Mr Athwal did not respond to a request for interview but said in a statement: “My properties are managed by an agency, selected for their quick response times and excellent customer service. This is evidenced by the long tenure of the tenants – over 87 years across 15 properties.

“I pride myself on being a good landlord and no tenants have ever been evicted. Repairs and improvements have been made to properties as recently as two weeks ago.

“To ensure tenants enjoy a secure, long-term home, rents are kept below market rate and, in many cases rents are frozen at the rate first agreed.

“Every Redbridge rental property I own is in full compliance with the landlord licence scheme, and have been since its creation. Landlords are contacted by the council when licences are due for renewal, this has not yet occurred for my properties but licences will be renewed when the notices are issued.”

Around 60 current MPs receive income from rental properties, according to Parliament’s latest register of interests.