A senior Labour minister has backed the labour MP private landlord at the centre of a storm exposed over renting out mould-riddled and insect infested flats

BBC journalist Joe Pike - a political investigations correspondent wrote on the BBC News website over the weekend about a block of flats owned and let out by Jas Athwal MP for Ilford South.

Athwal owns a total of 15 rental flats, making him the biggest landlord in the House of Commons.

The BBC claims that 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 BBC also makes allegations about ant infestations, an apparent absence of appropriate licensing, dirty communal areas and dumped furniture.

Pike said: Most of the people he spoke to said Mr Athwal and his property manager were slow to respond to complaints or were completely unresponsive. Also, having been tipped off about my visit, calls were made by the property manager to the tenants, after receiving these calls they became hesitant about talking to me. This appeared to me to be intimidation. 

He went on to state that a 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.

Senior Labour minister – Lucy Powell, leader of the House of Commons has backed Athwal saying to Sky News yesterday that he should not resign as an MP and that he was taking action to resolve the problems.  

She said: As I understand it, he himself is furious because he didn’t know this is happening in his housing stock and he is taking immediate steps to put that right and that is absolutely as it should be” she told Sky.

Jas Athwal – a former leader of Redbridge council which, like many Labour authorities, conducted various clampdowns on so-called rogue landlords did not respond to a BBC request for interview but said in a statement said:

I pride myself on being a good landlord and no tenants have ever been evicted. 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,

But later was forced to admitted that he had in fact seen an email which said the licences were due to expire.

He then gave the BBC a second statement:

He stated: 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.

For more info visit: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyg1j0lv1go

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