House of Commons/BBCThe London Renters Union (LRU) has known as on Labour MP Jas Athwal to step down after a BBC investigation discovered black mould and an ant infestation in his rental residence.
The union, which has 7,000 members throughout the capital, has additionally written to Redbridge Council urging it to research its former chief over allegations of “housing law breaches”.
The MP for Ilford South owns 15 properties, making him the largest landlord within the House of Commons.
He had earlier mentioned that he was “shocked and disappointed” to see the situation of the flats and had stopped utilizing the providers of the company managing these properties.
When requested in regards to the matter on Monday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer mentioned: “It's not good enough. It's unacceptable for any landlord, and I'll be absolutely clear about that. It doesn't matter whether it's a Labour MP or anyone else, it's unacceptable.”
BBC News additionally discovered that communal areas in Mr Athwal's flats had been soiled, lights had been defective and hearth alarms had been unfastened.
One tenant mentioned their baby had been affected by the ant assault, whereas one other mentioned they’d been warned they’d be evicted in the event that they claimed advantages.
Mr Athwal additionally admitted his flats didn’t have the mandatory licences below the plan he offered as chief of Redbridge Council, regardless of beforehand claiming they had been compliant.
LRU spokesperson Hester Sullivan mentioned: “Athwal has left his tenants to suffer from toxic mould and dangerous disrepair and has violated licensing legislation, which is a vital part of the tenant protection system.
“Athwal has also admitted to refusing to rent properties to tenants receiving housing benefit, leaving many low-income people without access to adequate housing.”
He mentioned if Mr Athwal remained an MP, tenants would lose confidence in Parliament's skill to resolve the nationwide housing disaster.
In response to the accusation that he doesn’t settle for tenants receiving advantages, Mr Athwal instructed BBC London that he at present rents to people who find themselves receiving housing advantages.
He mentioned: “In my previous comments I was specifically referring to Redbridge Council placing tenants directly; this is the conflict of interest I was preventing when letting properties out while acting as council leader.”
The Ilford South MP additionally mentioned he would reimburse all tenants who’ve spent out of their very own pocket to restore their properties and would additionally perform surveys to deal with any tenant points.
On Saturday Redbridge Council’s Conservative chief Paul Canales known as on Mr Athwal to resign as a councillor – a place he has held since turning into an MP – and urged council officers to research.
Redbridge Council has been requested to remark.
With inputs from BBC
