A landlord in London has been ordered to repay three of his tenants £10,538 after they applied successfully for a rent repayment order (RRO).

Landlord Guldeep or ‘Goldie’ Mankoo was criticised by the tribunal judges who heard the case for a ‘lackadaisical’ approach to his responsibilities as a landlord, including his approach to maintenance and repairs at the property, a four-bedroom flat within a mansion block on New Cross Road in Lewisham, SE London (pictured).

The rent repayment order was applied for by three tenants who lived at the address for varying periods during the 12 months covered by the RRO from April 2022 onwards.

Although Mankoo was described by the tenants as a ‘sometimes good, sometimes bad’ landlord particularly in relation to the repair of floorboards and drafty window frames – points that he argued were not true during the hearing - it was his delayed application for an HMO licence for the flat that cost him dearly in the end.

Licence application

Mankoo was alerted to the need for a licence in January 2023 after Lewisham council contacted him about the property and despite a ‘chaser’ email in March that year, he did not apply for a licence until the next month.

The case, while highlighting the huge costs of ignoring licencing requirements for HMOs, also reveals the significant costs of ‘bills included’ accommodation like this – Mankoo spent some £6,100 paying his tenants’ utilities and council tax during the period covered by the RRO.

The original rent repayment applied for was £17,563 but the judges reduced this by 40% given Mankoo accepted he had had committed the offence, although they rejected his criticisms of the tenants’ behaviour over repairs access.

Read the judgement in full.