Ealing Council has been ordered to apologise after it granted a licence to a house of multiple occupation (HMO) occupied by 18 families, without fully taking account a series of complaints by residents about the poor conditions inside it.

People have been complaining about the house on Uxbridge Road, in Acton - previously known as the Royal Crimea Guest House - for many years, and the home has been owned by a number of landlords, including at one point Ealing Council itself.

Conditions inside the house were said to be so bad that its residents asked local neighbours for help.

When the council renewed the licence at the house in July 2016 for a maximum of 30 people, residents said it had not taken account of their complaints and referred the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman.

The complaints were that the council:

  • Failed to properly consider an HMO licence application made in 2011
  • Failed to consider residents' concerns about health and safety issues relating to internal conditions within the property
  • Delayed considering a planning application for the property
  • Failed to consider issues with the property when renewing the licence in 2016
  • Failed to take action to control an HMO property
  • Failed to respond to residents’ questions or put the complaint through the council’s complaints procedure

The Ombudsman found the council failed to take into account relevant information before granting the HMO licence in 2016 and failed to respond to residents’ queries - or to put a complaint about this failure through its complaints procedure.

This was despite the fact council officers visited the house in March 2016 and found poor living conditions and a number of safety concerns.

The ombudsman has demanded the council apologise to the residents concerned, remind its officers about the issue and pay £250 as compensation for the injustice caused.

The council issued a statement saying: “We have accepted the ombudsman ruling, we have apologised and made a payment of £250. We have reminded officers of what is expected when dealing with complaints and are going to be reviewing our process of how we respond to them in the future.”