A rogue landlord has been ordered to hand back nearly £34,000 to five tenants after failing to license his mouse-infested HMO.

A first tier property tribunal heard that Stevan Gorgievski should have licensed the five-bedroom home in Biscay Road, London, under Hammersmith and Fulham’s additional licensing scheme.

One tenant, Matthew Farrell, said the housekeeper Lesley Nurse had become hostile towards the end of his tenancy and was deliberately obstructive. He was also given a bogus possession notice. Another, Carl Griffiths, told the tribunal there had been a mice infestation which had taken some time to be addressed.

Alarm panel

Joshua Squires said there was no central alarm panel and that there had been random visits by Gorgievski and the housekeeper who would spend several hours in the lounge, while Ross Kerslake said he had gone away for a few days and came back to find his door was broken.

Gorgievski argued that his previous agents – Kingsman - had failed to tell him to get a licence when it was managing the property. However, the tribunal found that at the time of the five tenants’ occupation, the HMO was being managed by the landlord because Kingsman had gone into liquidation.

The judge added: “We do not find the respondent’s account credible and even if it was, the onus was on him to determine if the property needed a licence. The conduct of the landlord overall was poor. There were problems of disrepair and infestation, the occupation of the lounge by him and the housekeeper was a form of harassment.”

The tribunal made a rent repayment order for 80% of the rent claimed and told Gorgievski – who rents out one other property - to pay court costs of £700.

Read the judgement in full.